


Rising Light

by Prysms



Category: Hypixel, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Character Death, Gen, Hypixel - Freeform, Minecraft, Multiple Plotlines, Warlords, all original characters - Freeform, choose-your-own-adventure, mild romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-03 20:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 40,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10974327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prysms/pseuds/Prysms
Summary: A Hypixel fanfiction centered around the minigame Warlords. This is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style fanfiction. Character decisions are currently being voted in on the Hypixel Warlords forums. This is an archive of past decisions. Chapters are posted in the same order as the forums.





	1. Introduction

Centuries ago, the Red King united dozens of warring factions into a powerful and prosperous empire. His successors have steadily increased the wealth and strength of the kingdom, and the city of Stormwind, once a small village, has become a center of trade, religion, and education as well as the seat of the royal house.

For the first time, there is conflict in the succession.

The recently deceased King has left two children- twins born only seconds apart. Both are too young to assume the throne, and the king’s sister has seized the crown and named herself Queen Regent. Your primary goal is to mitigate the damage and dethrone her before Stormwind’s former allies tear the city apart.

In the meantime, trouble is brewing. The traditional practice of extracting void shards, magic dust, and other raw materials from natural sources is run by warriors, who are regarded as second-class citizens by the deeply religious paladin leadership. There are reports of strange malevolent spirits emerging from the shard mines, slaughtering the workers and leading to growing resentment against the mine owners, who do not seem to care. Mages are seeking an alternate and less dangerous method for mining, but their progress is slow, difficult, and scarred by the tragedies of failed attempts.

The shaman tribes of the northern regions, a proud independent people, are falling prey to the siren call of an extremist leadership faction who cry for a full-scale invasion of Stormwind and an attempt to seize the throne for themselves. After years of paying tribute to the kings and queens, and suffering as their territory is restricted, they rally their followers by reminding them of a past when shamans were their own rulers, undaunted by the powers of any other. The only obstacle to their plan is the superior fighting force of the crown, now allied closer than ever with the paladin-run House of Light. If they too can find powerful allies to support them, nothing will stand in their path.

**So, do you want to play?**

**Anyone reading this can influence the outcome of each scenario after each chapter. There are always multiple outcomes to a situation. Just comment on the post at https://hypixel.net/threads/warlords-fanfiction-forum-game-fire-ice-water-void.1089658/ and see if you can get people to agree with you. Democracy ftw.**

**There are many paths, but only two true endings. Together we rise… or fall.**


	2. Prologue: Ascension

It was a little past midnight when the king of Stormwind finally died.

Serena sat in her usual place by his side, holding his cold hand, in the chair she had occupied for almost four days. She wasn’t sure whether she should cry or not. It was the moment she had been dreading for so long, but now that it was here, she didn’t feel as shattered as she’d expected. The frail, hollow shell lying under the covers of the royal bed was not her brother. Not anymore. In some ways, he had already died long ago.

There was a light tap on the door and a maid peeked inside. “My lady, I’m sorry to disturb you, but the shaman Chieftain is here.”

“Send him in,” Serena ordered. Her voice was hoarse from days of silence. Reluctantly, she laid her brother’s hand back on his still chest and got to her feet.

The door burst open and Luc strode inside. His rich fur robes were heavy with snow, and it trailed from his boots across the plush carpet. “I came as soon as I heard the news, but the trail was rough. I am so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” she said. For some reason, his sympathy stung more than the actual death.

“Where is your sister?” Luc asked. He glanced around, but Serena shook her head. “She should be with you at a time like this.”

“She’s where I left her. Holed up in the basement of the College with Fontn and her stupid experiments.” Serena chewed the inside of her cheek, trying hold back the tears that threatened to fall. “Even now, she cannot bear to look at him.”

“After all these years? That seems harsh,” said Luc quietly.

“Forgiveness does not run in this family,” Serena muttered. She picked up the pitcher on the nightstand and poured water for herself and Luc. “Here. I can’t offer you anything stronger right now.”

“This is fine.” Luc took the cup but didn’t drink. “I am not here to mourn the passing of the king.”

Serena smiled bitterly. “I knew you would not. After everything you went through with him, I almost expected you to be celebrating this.”

“I do not deny that we had our share of differences, but he was a strong leader. A good man who wanted what was best for Stormwind. The Light will welcome him at the end.” Luc raised his cup to the dead man and took a small sip. “Are my people permitted to come into the city at the funeral?”

“Of course. All are welcome. Those who take issue with your presence will be dealt with personally, by me.”

Luc raised an eyebrow over the rim of his cup. “The House of Light has become very political as of late.”

“I have decided that we will not stand idly by and watch our fragile peace break down because of a few warriors who prefer to speak before they think.” Serena watched Luc’s face very closely as she spoke. “In the current political climate, I think it is wisest for me to assume the throne of Stormwind as the Queen Regent. The heirs of the king are not old enough to accept the crown, and my position as the Daughter of the House will secure me the support of Stormwind’s allies. I summoned you here to ask for the blessing of the Shaman tribes on my rule.”

The shock on his face was delicious. Serena held back her triumphant smirk.

“Do you realize what you are asking-” Luc began. She cut him off before he could finish the sentence.

“Yes, I know. It’s unprecedented. But these are troubled times and I too want what is best for Stormwind.”

“No. You want power.”

“If that is the burden I must carry, so be it.”

“Save the innocent act for someone stupider than me.” Luc put down his cup and drew his Gemini. Electricity crackled through the air. “I will not confirm you without the approval of your sister. You know very well that you are not the only eligible candidate for Regent.”

“My sister is dead to me!” Serena drained her cup and hurled it into the fireplace. Glass fragments sprayed across the room. “She would rather hide than admit she was wrong. She shamed this family and the House of Light. How dare you choose her over me?”

“This is uncalled for,” said Luc irritably. “Clearly you are not in your right mind. I do extend my deepest sympathies for your brother’s death, but you are painfully unfit to rule. I will return in a month and the throne of Stormwind will remain empty until you or Lucy demonstrate that you can accept the crown. Good night, Lady Serena.” He tried to walk towards the door but Serena stepped in his path.

“You think I am not in my right mind? You are endangering your people.”

“I said, good night,” Luc snapped. Serena ignored him and opened the door herself.

“Bring me the last maid who served my brother,” she snapped at the footman. “Now!”

The boy nodded and practically sprinted down the hall.

“The last maid?” Luc asked warily. “Surely the king of Stormwind had more than one.”

“Oh, he had twenty,” Serena muttered. “But only one was still alive when he died.”

Luc’s eyes bulged and he raised the Gemini. “Are you saying-”

The door opened again and Luc quickly lowered his weapon. Serena looked up to see a teenaged Cryomancer girl holding a tray with two steaming cups. She wore a white apron over her blue mage robes, and her blonde hair was covered with a plain hood.

She was beautiful, Serena thought bitterly, beautiful in a way she herself had never been. “What is your name, child?” she asked.

“My name… Icelyn, Lady Serena. I’m Icelyn,” she stammered. “Am- am I in trouble?”

“Of course not. Come closer, Icelyn.” Serena dipped her hand into the pocket of her robes, fitting her fingers through the claws she favored over a regular sword. “I have a question for you. Answer truthfully and you will have nothing to fear.”

“Yes, Lady Serena,” Icelyn whispered. She shuffled closer, looking at her feet.

“Tell me, child, what do you know about the Emerald Heart?”

“Um…” Icelyn’s gaze became distant. “It might have been mentioned to me before.”

“By him?” Serena pointed at the body on the bed.

“Yes,” Icelyn said. “He spoke of it, in his fever. Something about the House of Light as well. But he said many things. I took no notice of it.”

“I see.” Serena put her free hand on Icelyn’s shoulder. “Look into the firelight, dear.”

She took a few tiny steps towards the hearth. Serena nudged her a bit closer until the flames were almost touching the hem of her robes, then drew the claws from her pocket and yanked the girl’s head back in a single movement.

“No!” Luc shouted, but it was too late.

Blood fountained from Icelyn’s slit throat, splashing over the fireplace. The flames hissed violently and the room stank with coppery bitterness. Her body went limp and Serena let her fall into the soggy mess of ash.

She turned back to look at Luc. His face was an amusing shade of grey. The old Earthwarden looked more like a dead plant than anything else.

“Well?” Serena said impatiently. “You heard the girl. The Emerald Heart is alive and well in the hands of the House. The Shamans were broken once. They can be broken again.”

Luc opened and shut his mouth, but all that came out was a strangled choking noise.

“I am losing my patience!” Serena hissed. “You will confirm me as the Queen Regent, or I swear, you will wish you had.” She grabbed a towel from the table, wiped the blood from her claws, and tossed the stained rag on Icelyn’s fallen body. “Say it.”

“I… As the rightful chieftain, I confirm Serena Rose, of the bloodline of the Red King, as the Queen Regent,” Luc stammered. His eyes flickered to Icelyn on the floor and he turned even paler than before. “May her rule… may her rule be blessed by the Light and… m-may it be for the glory of Stormwind.”

Power hummed in the air for a brief second. The crown of Stormwind, lying unceremoniously on the bedside table, seemed to glow with its own light. Serena smiled and brushed past Luc to pick it up. “Thank you.”

“Do not add insult to injury!” Luc snarled. “You gave me no choice!” He turned to leave, but Serena stepped in front of him and dug her claws into his shoulder.

“What happened here tonight?”

Luc flinched. “I- Nothing happened. I confirmed you as the Queen Regent of Stormwind.”

Serena raised an eyebrow. “You are addressing the Crown. Show some respect.”

“I confirmed you as Queen Regent… Your Majesty.”

She pocketed her weapon and smiled. “Very good. You are free to go.”


	3. Divided We Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks after Serena is crowned Regent of Stormwind, chaos erupts among the Shaman tribes. 
> 
> START: Arc 1 "Rising Light"  
> Plotline 0.1.1

It was an unseasonably cold day in Attherough Valley. Bitter winds swirled around the mountains and howled through the little Shaman settlement, rattling the wooden tent frames and whipping sparks from the fires into the sky.

The mood inside the Council meeting-house, however, was anything but cold.

“You cannot be serious!” Syncro shouted. “You would throw away our only chance of peaceful coexistence in order to satisfy your pride? What you seek is our destruction.”

“Only the destruction of our servitude!” Elivagar insisted. “You confuse peace with quiet slavery! I will not watch our people suffer because you are too cowardly to break away!”

Syncro turned to Luc for the first time, pointing an accusing finger at the other earthwarden. “This is treason! He would destroy our way of life for a throne that is not ours to claim. The House of Light would tear us apart if they so much as caught word that we planned to break the treaty.”

“You see! Coward!” Elivagar snapped. “We were our own masters once, not beholden to any throne or the House. They bowed to us, and we bowed to none.”

“You speak of a past that cannot be revived,” said Luc wearily. Their voices made his head hurt. “The Red King broke our power when he took the throne of Stormwind.”

“If that throne was ours, we would be restored!” The ground rumbled menacingly as Elivagar spoke. “You allowed the House of Light to consolidate power in Stormwind! We are in this mess because of you!”

“Silence! You have no idea what the alternative was!” Luc snapped at him. “The true heirs are 8 years old; would you rather that throne go to a child? I did what I had to do for our survival, which you seem very intent on throwing away.”

“There is nothing but pain for us here!” Elivagar retorted. “How much more of our territory must they take from us before you see it? We are nothing but slaves!”

“You are forgetting the resources that the Crown provides us in exchange for this so-called ‘slavery,’” Syncro sneered. “You would not wield half the power you hold if not for the void shards they trade us. They could easily take that away.”

“Then we find a way to create our own!” Elivagar said fiercely. “Our dependence on the Crown has weakened us. I know that we were self-sufficient once. The trade with them is just another tool to ensure our subservience! If we can reduce our demand, or eliminate it entirely, it will no longer be an obstacle. At least we will accomplish something, even if it is not what I intend.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Syncro muttered. “Aria and the traders brought news of strange monsters emerging from the mines. They cannot risk more warrior lives for the sake of increasing production. The shamans have a scant fraction of the number of warriors in Stormwind. Attempting our own mining operation will kill us all.”

Elivagar spat scornfully into the fire. “Since when has the House of Light cared for warrior lives? ‘The mines have been depleted and we had to find a new one.’ ‘There was an explosion in the refinery that destroyed the stock.’ ‘The warriors are threatening revolt.’ ‘There are monsters killing the miners.’ Every damned year, Aria makes excuses as to why she cannot meet the quota. This year is no different.”

“Perhaps we can negotiate with Aria and the Regent for a higher quota,” Luc said thoughtfully. “Elivagar is right. It is rare that the agreed-upon quantity of shards is ever met by the House. We send an Emissary to the crown every time it changes hands, so why not ask for a change in the Treaty and different territory limitations? The question now is who should we send?”

“Send me.” Syncro stepped forward. “This is a delicate situation that must be handled with care. The Regent grieves for the King and may lash out at us if the appropriate measures are not taken.”

“Send me!” Elivagar stepped forward as well. “The Crown of Stormwind is the weakest it has ever been. We must push our advantage. It may be another century before an opportunity like this arises again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **A. Send Syncro, the conservative diplomat, to speak to Lady Aria and Queen Regent Serena.  
>  (Unlocks "Cloak and Dagger")  
> VOTES: 8**
> 
> ~~B. Send Elivagar, the aggressive extremist, to speak to Lady Aria and Queen Regent Serena.~~  
>  (Unlocks "The Valley of the Shadow of Death")  
> VOTES: 3 


	4. I Live to Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The warriors have endured decades of brutal dangerous work in the void mines. Do they dare to break out of their chains?
> 
> START: Arc 1 "Rising Light"  
> Plotline 0.2.1

Axoy wiped his forehead as he watched the sun set. The night shift workers were starting to arrive, but his replacement wasn’t there yet. It wasn’t a difficult job, but those damned monsters could appear out of nowhere. Less of the mining crew showed up every day. He couldn’t blame them for being scared for their lives, but he knew another week of subpar production was going to bring the wrath of Q__T down on his head like a sack of bricks.

Last time, five void monsters had managed to rip up half of the smelter, spilling molten fuel across the mineshaft. Four dead, twenty injured. Explaining that to Q__T wasn’t an experience he was eager to repeat. Between shouting at him for being careless and cursing his night shift replacement for being stupid, she’d grudgingly assigned a new guard shift composed of very unqualified mages and a defender. The mages were honestly only good for being monster bait, and the defender was a snob who managed to make Axoy feel like an idiot at least once a day, but he’d saved his life on more than one occasion.

The tent flap opened and Pran looked inside. “Hey. Everything okay in here?”

“I thought you’d never get here,” Axoy said wearily. He put down the record book and stood up. “Yeah it’s fine. Should be a pretty quiet night. We’ve both had it easy so far.”

“Anything I need to know about?”

“Nope.” Axoy looked around but Raidibotti and the mage guards were out of sight. “Between you and me, I know this mine is dying. Too much dust and not enough shards. We’re running the smelter overtime, but Q__T is gonna want my head on a plate when she sees the expenses for this month. This can’t keep up.”

“I mean, you’ve got a quarter of the crew here too,” Pran muttered. “This isn’t even the worst of the infested area and everyone’s too scared to deal with what we’ve got going here. Doesn’t matter what the House pays. If they can’t guarantee our safety, no one’s gonna show.”

Someone screamed nearby. A bell began to ring outside.

Pran and Axoy looked at each other.

“I knew it couldn’t f***ing last.” Axoy drew his sword and sprinted through the camp, heading for the mine entrance. Raidibotti was still nowhere to be seen. _Top-notch bodyguard_ , Axoy thought irritably. He yanked the heavy doors open, and stopped in his tracks when he saw the battle raging below the shattered stairs.

No less than six ethereal monsters were tearing through the crowd of panicking miners and mage guards. Fire, ice, and water flew in every direction. As Axoy watched in horror, one of the cryomancers got too close and was thrown against a column. She slid down to the floor, landing in a heap of bloody robes.

“They can’t get out unless someone gets those stairs back together. Got my back?” Axoy asked. Pran nodded and drew his own sword. The greenish light of the felflame blade cast a sickly glow over the battle scene.

“Let’s go!”

As soon as they landed on the ground level, a shadowy claw swept towards him. Axoy rolled sideways and slashed at the creature’s limb, but it boiled away into thin air before the blow could connect. It lunged at him again, a mass of dark clouds and slashing fangs. A flame burst exploded between the monster’s glaring purple eyes and it screeched in agony, disintegrating into foul-smelling smoke.

Pran sprinted through the fight and picked up the fallen cryomancer. Axoy grabbed some nearby crates and managed to stack them up until they reached the remains of the stairs. “Retreat! Get to the surface!”

No one needed to be told twice. The mages turned and bolted for the doors. Axoy cast a seismic wave towards the remaining monsters, throwing them backwards into a corner. Pran and an aquamancer were carrying the fallen cryo out of the mine. They would probably be okay. Axoy turned away from the creatures and took a step up the makeshift stairs.

A flicker of movement caught his eye. A seventh monster lunged at him, with outstretched claws. There was no time to react. Axoy tried to raise his sword…

And the claws stopped, inches from his chest. Someone behind him gasped. He heard the soft thump as they collapsed.

_What?_

He looked down. The green light of an intervene sparkled weakly over his skin. The monster roared in frustration and struck again, but the blows simply glanced off the shield. Axoy backed up and rammed the blade through the creature’s eye. It disintegrated like the first one.

Raidibotti lay at the top of the stairs, unconscious and bleeding from the wounds meant for Axoy. He dragged the injured defender the last few feet to the door, then slammed and deadbolted them closed. “Get a pyro and an aqua. I want these sealed shut and he needs healing.”

The remaining uninjured mages tottered over and started welding the doors shut with fireballs. An aquamancer summoned up a healing rain over Raidibotti and started trying to clean the hole in his chest with water bolts. Axoy collapsed on a supply crate next to Pran.

“About that quiet evening…” Pran started to say.

“This place is done. There were seven in there. I owe Raidi my life for the hundredth f****ing time. What are our options?”

“The same as always,” said Pran helplessly. “Find a new mine and wait until it’s too depleted and infested to keep going. Bitch at Q__T until she gives us more guards. I guess we could talk to the College representative for whatever ungodly solution they can cook up, but I don’t think Fontn has given a f*** in twenty years.”

“Don’t make me talk to Q__T again,” Axoy growled. “I’d be better off dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE TWO:
> 
> **C. Explore the other regions outside of Stormwind to find another mine.  
>  (Unlocks "The Defiance of Hope")  
> VOTES: 9**
> 
> **D. Try to gain an audience with Fontn from the College representative Cthuko.  
>  (Unlocks "A Voice in the Void")  
> VOTES: 9**
> 
> ~~E: Bargain with Q__T for additional protection.~~  
>  (Unlocks "If I Fall")  
> VOTES: 5 


	5. The Gift of Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After deciding what to do about the situation at the mine, the warriors visit the College of Stormwind and a small group heads out to Crossfire plains to survey a possible new site.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Gift of Knowledge"  
> Plotline 1.2.2-1.2.3

Q__T was already in a bad mood when Axoy walked in. He braced himself when she looked up.

“I know, I know! The mine’s unworkable,” she grumbled. “I’ve been explaining the logistics to the Ministers of the House of Light all morning. I don’t know how many times I can repeat myself without going crazy or killing someone. They made me talk to Felflame and everything.” Q__T made an affected little shudder. “I never want to see that dreadful little man ever again.”

“How awful,” Axoy muttered sarcastically. “Look, if you want a new mine, we need that appraisal guy from Doriven to come back. He was really good.”

“Already got them,” Q__T said glumly. “They’re at the stables with Soup. Crossfire is still a possibility, since the shamans are in their autumn territory right now. We’ll just block off a section needed for mining if they complain to Her Majesty in a few months.”

She was surprisingly calm and reasonable, and Axoy decided not to push his luck and tell her that he had sent Natalie to the College rep. “Thank you.”

“We’re under so much damned strain right now. Just go take the day off. I’ll reassign you when Soup gets back with the site appraisal report.” Q__T produced a flask from a pocket of her gown and took a swig. “Why are you still here? Shoo.”  


**\----+----**

Natalie looked around at the graceful arched entrance of the College, unable to shake the feeling of being out of place. Students in hoods and tunics followed their robed team leaders through magic exercises on the lawn outside, and Natalie had to force herself not to stop and stare. She walked quickly through the hall and went up a flight of marble stairs to the office where Axoy had set up a meeting for her. The door was closed, but she could hear someone moving around behind it.

“Natalie?”

She looked up as a Pyromancer in red and gold robes opened the door. “Good morning. This way please.”

The man led her into a round office with a desk and pulled out a chair for her. “I’m Cthuko, the College representative for Stormwind, Doriven, and Arathi. I coordinate the team leaders and answer directly to Fontn. So… what business could a warrior have with the College?”

“We need your help. It’s an ongoing issue in the void shard mines,” Natalie said nervously as she sat down. “Several months now. There are… highly destructive monsters appearing in the nodes, with great physical strength and no means of communication. The House of Light has been supplying us with guards, but they can’t protect all of us. As far as we know, they’ve done nothing about the source of the issue.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard about anything like this.” Cthuko produced a sheaf of paper and a pen from the desk drawer and began writing. “They have never mentioned this to me or Fontn.”

Anger flared up in Natalie’s chest but she squeezed the arms of her chair until it receded. Cthuko flinched.

“Control yourself, warrior. I will defend myself if attacked.”

“They left us to die!” Natalie burst out. “It was never their intention to help us. They wanted us to…”

“Please calm down. Which Minister of the House of Light oversees the mining operations?”

“Q__T,” Natalie muttered. “Though it may as well be no one, with what they’ve done for us.”

“I would think mining is a higher priority for them,” Cthuko said. “Stormwind’s treaty with the shamans is almost wholly dependent on the weapons and material trade.”

“Everyone knows the last thing Stormwind wants is to arm the shamans,” Natalie snapped. “If mine production is down, they keep the shamans weak and they keep us working scared. Two birds with one stone.”

“I see.” Cthuko made another note. “Describe the beings you saw.”

“Tall. Thin. You can see through their bodies, but they always have some kind of head and eyes at the top. They’re like purple smoke... Weapons pass straight through their limbs, but their eyes are the weak point. Black claws and fangs. Those are the only solid parts.”

“Do you know where they come from?”

“I’ve never actually seen one appear. But I’ve been told they look like they emerge straight out of the stone.”

“Hmm. I assume combating them is overly dangerous?”

“They’re incredibly fast. One strike is all it takes. We have mages working as guards but they can’t keep up either.”

Cthuko shuffled through his papers again. “And there is no other possible alternative? Does Q__T or anyone else in the House of Light know that you have exhausted all available options?”

Natalie hesitated, wondering what the right answer was. “Q__T doesn’t know we’re talking to you about this. She sent an appraisal team out to Crossfire this morning to find a new mine. This isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with this situation and she’s been unreasonable in the past. There was a chance she might actually ban us from speaking to you about it if we contacted her before coming here.”

“Interesting.” Cthuko made a few notes on the bottom of the page. “All right. We are not affiliated with the House in any way, so we are not obligated to tell them anything that happened here.”

Natalie sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“That’s all for now. You can expect one of our teams later this week to inspect the situation at the sealed mine. They’ll bring the report to Fontn, and he’ll decide whether or not to take on the issue.” He tucked away the papers and smiled slightly for the first time in their meeting. “Although between you and me, Natalie, I think you have a good chance of it.”

****

**\----+----**

“Are we there yet?”

“You asked that already.”

“I know.”

Soup gritted his teeth and rode down the steep path behind the appraisal team. Pepper and Croft could do absolutely no wrong in Q__T’s eyes, which he envied, but they were the worst travel companions he’d ever had the misfortune of meeting.

“We’re not far, if that helps,” Pepper said. He unfolded the map again and checked the landmarks. “Once we’re over this ridge, we’ll be able to see the cliffs. The lakes should be lower than usual, given that it’s been a bit of a dry season, but the dam is open so that Thornhill forest doesn't dry out completely.”

“I miss Thornhill,” Croft said sadly. “It’s shaman territory now. They’re well-known for killing trespassers.”

“Charming,” Soup growled. “And we’re expected to share the region when they show up in winter?”

“Only if we find a decent enough vein of void shards,” Pepper said. “Last time I was here, Crossfire was known for quantity over quality.”

Soup shrugged. “That’s enough for Q__T.”

“Whoa!” Croft shouted. “Guys… We’re gonna have a problem here.”

“What?” Soup kicked his horse into a gallop to catch up to the aquamancer far ahead. “What’s wrong?”

“S***,” Pepper whispered. “Gods above, what happened?”

Soup came over the ridge. Crossfire plains spread out in front of him, and his heart sank.

It was flooded. At least four feet of water lapped gently at the cliffs on both sides. Pepper and Croft looked at each other dubiously.

“When the hell did this happen?” Soup demanded.

“I don’t know. It must have been recently, or else Q__T would have known not to send us here. Why isn’t it draining? The dam should at least be letting some water through.” Croft sighed. “If the dam is blocked, maybe we can open it up. Thornhill must be dry as a desert.”

“I’m going to go look.” Soup nudged his horse down the steep path. The closer he got, the worse the water looked. Small patches of green scum floated on the surface and brown algae clouded the depths. “It’s been like this for probably three weeks, maybe a month. Not enough time to really muck anything up, but I don’t want to have to walk through it.”

“I don’t know of anything big enough to block up the dam like this naturally,” Croft remarked. “Any waste flowing out from the canals in Stormwind gets filtered through the cages in the sewer before coming here, and those get cleaned almost every week.”

Soup dismounted and gritted his teeth as he stepped into the water. It was cold and the ground under his boots was sticky. Pepper and Croft hesitated for a moment, but plunged in as well.

The dam wasn’t far from them, but it seemed like a miserably long time before they reached it. The water was deepest right next to the stone wall, almost up to Soup’s neck. He felt along the side. There were four large square holes in the dam that allowed a certain amount of water to escape to Thornhill during the rains, and they could be plugged during a particularly bad flood. His fingers traced the edge of one gap, but there was definitely some sticks and something smooth and round wedged in the hole. Maybe it was a stone that had dislodged from the cliffs. It was slick and slimy, but there were gaps in the surface and Soup used them as handholds. Working by touch alone, he carefully pulled it loose and held it up.

“I found the…” Soup only managed to get out the first three words before his brain registered what he was looking at.

It was a human skull.

There was a loud splash as Croft fainted nearby. Pepper reached for the aquamancer and began towing him towards solid ground. Soup blinked at the disgusting thing in his hand and tried not to vomit at the sight.

“We’re not telling Q__T about this, are we?” Pepper called.

“Hell no. Not in a million years,” Soup snapped at him. “Tell her this place is completely out of the question. Now get back here and help me. The block isn’t gonna clear itself and I think we need to figure out what the f*** happened here.”

“No way!” Pepper yelled. “Get whatever’s in there out and we’ll go to another site. We’re already in over our heads, and I don’t just mean the water level.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **F. Clear the dam blockage and inspect the human skull.  
>  (Unlocks "While the Dead Still Speak")  
> VOTES: 9**
> 
> ~~G. Clear the dam, leave Crossfire, and inspect the Neolithic Ravine instead for a potential mine.  
>  (Unlocks "Dig a Deeper Grave")  
> VOTES: 3~~


	6. If Only

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two shamans consider the danger that the new Queen Regent poses to them, and encounter a mysterious traveler.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "If Only"  
> Plotline 0.1.2

Lily paced through the darkness outside of the camp, wishing she could be closer to the crackling fire only a few feet away. The terrible weather over Attherough had continued for days, and the wind bit right through her layers of fur armor. Her felflame blade shimmered weakly in the icy gusts. It was the worst possible conditions for her nighttime watch shift, but the rustling of wind through the trees and jagged rocks was strangely relaxing.

“Hey. You’ve been out here for hours.”

Lily blinked and looked up. Mag stood a few feet away, holding out a steaming bowl. “You weren’t around when they served dinner, so I saved you some.”

“I missed dinner?” Lily rubbed her eyes and took the bowl from him. “Sorry… I lose track of time so easily out here.”

“I don’t know how you can stand it,” the other earthwarden muttered. “Miserable damn job, especially on a night like this. I heard Doom saying it was probably going to snow later. Drink your soup and come back to camp before you freeze. It’s got to be time for someone else’s watch.”

“What time is it anyway?” Lily rested her sword on the stones next to her and took a long sip. The rich broth warmed her insides and for the first time, she realized how cold she was. “That’s better. Thank you.”

Mag shook his head disapprovingly. “You’ve got to take better care of yourself. You’re not eating, you’re not sleeping, you’re spending hours out here in the cold. What’s going on?”

“I’m fine,” Lily mumbled into her soup bowl. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. I’m worried about you.”

“I just… I don’t know.” Lily finished the soup and picked up her weapon again. “We’re never going to go home again, are we?”

“Gods above, is that what this is all about?” Mag sat down on the rock next to her and scratched at the dirt with his staff. “Luc sent our Emissary a few days ago to renegotiate our territory limits. We’ll be back in the Gorge before you know it. What do you miss about that place anyway?”

“It’s not about that,” Lily muttered. “I grew up there. Every summer from my childhood was spent there. How can that prize bitch from the House ban us from our land?”

“Don’t think about it too much,” Mag said sadly. “They know we can’t do anything about it. The restrictions are just there to rub it in our faces that we live under the Crown now.”

“Who did Luc send as Emissary?”

“Syncro. Elivagar volunteered but Luc said he’d probably end up offending her to hell and back.”

“He’s not wrong.”

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the wind, until Lily felt a few cold drops on her face and hands.

“There’s that snow. Let’s go back- wait. Did you hear that?”

Mag looked up. “What?”

Lily listened as hard as she could over the sound of the wind. “There. Behind the rock.” It was the smallest of noises, but it was undoubtedly someone trying to walk quietly over the rough dirt.

“I know you are there!” Lily shouted. She raised her blade and it flared brightly through the dusk. “Show yourself!”

The noises stopped.

Mag lifted his own staff. Green light shimmered dangerously around his hands. “Should I throw a boulder?”

“Not yet. Go around and try to push them towards me.” Lily took a deep breath and edged towards the sound, bracing herself for an attack. Mag crept around the other side.

She pounced on the person before they could strike. Lily dug her fingers into their neck and pulled off the hood covering their face. She frowned. It was a girl with a pale, terrified face, gaunt with hunger and cold. Her weapon lay on the ground nearby. She was no threat, Lily decided, and loosened her grip. “Who are you?”

“Please don’t hurt me!” the girl cried out. She gripped Lily’s hands with surprising strength in her thin fingers. “I need your help. They’re hunting me…”

“Who’s hunting you?” Mag demanded. “Where are you from?”

“The Queen Regent,” the girl whispered. “She wants me dead.”

Her eyes rolled back and she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	7. Cloak and Dagger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syncro, the Emissary for the tribes, meets with Lady Aria of the House of Light and the Queen Regent Serena.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Cloak and Dagger"  
> Plotline 0.1.3

The weather on the riding trail from Attherough to Stormwind was slightly less harsh than it had been in many days, but Syncro hated it all the same. To be fair, there were few things he didn’t hate, but bad weather was at the top of the list, right alongside Lady Aria. She was waiting at the entrance to the House of Light when he arrived, looking far too bubbly and cheery for how early it was. Syncro took a deep breath, braced himself, and dismounted from his horse.

“Good morning, Lady Aria.” He bowed slightly and held out his hand.

“Oh, my dear.” Aria ignored his attempt at a handshake and enveloped him in a bear hug instead. “It has been so long since I saw you. Her Majesty is in a dreadful mood, as usual.”

Syncro managed to pull away before he suffocated in her robes and perfume. “What do you mean, ‘as usual’?”

Aria put her hand to her forehead. “You should have spared yourself the torture of coming here. It’s utter chaos. The statue of Her Majesty in the courtyard was vandalized. The House has been on a witch hunt. Those horrid warriors are up in arms about her being affirmed as Queen. It’s why I couldn’t give you a proper greeting after all this hardship and travel.” She sighed and looked so mournful that Syncro actually pitied her. “But the poor dear is under such a burden. Anyone weaker than our lovely Daughter of the House would have broken with the strain by now.”

Syncro bit back the remark hovering at the front of his mind and pasted on a sympathetic smile. “I can hardly imagine.”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Aria smoothed her robes and looked around. “You must have traveled so far to get here. Let’s get inside. Would you like anything to eat or drink?”

“Tea, thank you.” Syncro followed her through the House and down a long flight of stairs to her chambers and sat down on one of Aria’s lurid pink velvet chairs as she poured tea for both of them. Syncro waited for her to take a sip first, then sniffed it cautiously. It smelled awful, like everything else Aria tried to cook. Evidently, even tea could be ruined by the Minister’s touch.

“I ordered cakes as well, but these idiot maids from the palace are so slow. Truth be told, I’ve only seen two of them all week. I must speak to Her Majesty about additional staff, this is ridiculous.” Aria huffed a little as she sat down and put her booted feet up on an orange silk footstool. “Her Majesty is still with the council and her nieces, trying to figure out an appropriate response to the vandalism. Hopefully they’ll come to a consensus soon, but our little princesses are causing quite a ruckus. Eight years old and already trying to kill each other.” Aria sipped her tea and smiled. “Truly, they are of the bloodline of the King.”

“Indeed,” Syncro said, without sarcasm. “How have you been, Lady Aria?”

“I’ve been through hell and back, but let’s not talk about me, I want to hear about you. How is my darling Luc, and Nora, and Angel, and Iris?”

“They’re all very well, Lady Aria. I will give them your regards when I see them again.”

“Lovely. Is that dreadful Elivagar still trying to stir the pot from his council seat?”

“Yes, and he’s not alone. Somehow he’s found supporters for his insanity.”

“How odd,” Aria sighed. “I was under the impression that one needed friends in order to have supporters. Clearly I have been dis-proven.”

Syncro tried not to laugh. “Luc has it under control. Truth be told, it was almost Elivagar who came to renegotiate the trade agreements.”

“Oh, don’t give me nightmares.” Aria shuddered and shook her head. “Evidently my cakes are being imported on foot from Arathi, given the amount of time it is taking. I could have walked there myself faster.”

A distant yell of fury echoed through the House. Syncro reached for his sword, but Aria just chuckled grimly and patted his hand. “I did say Her Majesty was in a bad mood. Oh, this is going to be terrifying.”

Angry footsteps clicked down the stairs and the door was flung open a second later. Queen Regent Serena stormed inside, and Syncro tried not to shrink away under her glare.

“In the name of the Light,” Serena began furiously, “if this takes longer than a half hour, I will-”

“Your Majesty,” Aria murmured. She clambered to her feet and bowed deeply. Syncro followed suit, glad for the excuse not to look her in the eye.

“Aria, Emissary.” Serena barely nodded at them before splashing tea into a cup for herself and gulping the entire thing down. “The Council continues to test my patience. One of these days…” She trailed off and Aria turned a little pale. “Never mind. Emissary, state your business unless it’s the same bulls**** that Luc brought to me every damned year when he was in your place.”

Syncro tried to ignore the nervousness stabbing at his gut and remember the terms he had discussed with Luc. “Um… If Your Majesty is amenable to these changes, we request that our access to the Gorge be restored during the summer season, in addition to keeping year-round passage through Thornhill. We agree to give up Attherough in exchange.”

“Fine. You had better all be out of the valley by winter. But you may only have Gorge in the summer season.” Serena poured herself another cup of foul-smelling tea and threw it back. “June through August. Anyone caught before or after that is trespassing on the Crown’s territory at risk of their lives.”

“Agreed.” Syncro took a deep breath. Aria rewrote a passage of the official documents and looked up anxiously. “We also need the quantity of void shards given in the monthly trade increased to one thousand. It’s very well documented that the amount in the treaty is never met-”

“I wonder whose fault that could be,” Serena growled. Aria quailed under her gaze.

“It’s the warriors, Your Majesty, they can’t keep up production! Q__T gave a briefing to the Ministers of the House yesterday and I thought someone had told you…”

“You thought? _You thought?_ You are not here to think, Aria, you are here to obey!” Serena shouted. “Quite frankly, you’re not good at either one of those things.” She slammed her teacup down on Aria’s desk, splashing tea across the crimson carpet. “I cannot grant the tribes more void shards from a supply we do not have. In fact, I do not think we can even meet the old offer now. I send my sincere apologies to Luc, but it isn’t possible until we have a new mine. The primary source outside of Stormwind is… non-functional at this time.”

The door opened and a maid tiptoed in with a tray of teacakes. She let out a little squeak of panic when she saw Serena, and quickly put the tray down on a side table before bolting out the door.

“Are we finished here?” Serena asked.

“If he has no more requests of the Crown, then we are finished,” said Aria meekly.

“Nothing more, Your Majesty. Thank you for your time.” Syncro breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the Queen Regent yanked open the door and stormed out.

“Oh, heavens,” Aria muttered. “That woman is absolutely corrosive sometimes.” She picked up the plate and offered it to him. “Have a sweet, dear. I think we both need one.”

Syncro took one of the frosted cakes, more out of politeness than actual hunger. “Have you finished the new agreement?”

“Yes, sign here and I will seal it for the House Vault.” Aria handed him the pen and parchment. “I’ve delayed the trade deliveries indefinitely but we can revisit it another time when a mine is available again. I’m deeply sorry. It’s just too much to handle right now.”

“Understood.” Syncro scribbled a quick mark on the line beneath Aria’s neat handwriting and passed it back to her. “I can try to put in a good word for you with Luc and the others, but I don’t know how they’ll react.”

“Just… speak gently of us, dear,” Aria said sadly. “We are doing the best we can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **What should Syncro say to the Shaman Council when he returns from the negotiations?**
> 
> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> ~~H. “The Queen Regent has informed me that the shard trade is suspended indefinitely."~~  
>  (Unlocks "Forever Unbroken")  
> VOTES: 3 
> 
> **I. “Lady Aria is trying to arrange the new trade for us, but it will take time before they can develop a more productive mine.”  
>  (Unlocks "Our Own Worst Enemy")  
> VOTES: 9**


	8. Nemesister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twin heirs to the throne, Kara and Panda, learn an important lesson during their classes.
> 
> BEGIN: "Nemesister"  
> Plotline 0.3.1

“Concentrate, Princesses,” Fioren said sternly. “Five minutes left.”

Kara gritted her teeth and tapped her pencil on the desk. The words on the page in front of her seemed to melt and run together. Written tests were her worst enemy, and she’d slept through half of the classes anyway. “I’m never going to have to take a test when I’m the Queen!” Kara had protested weeks ago, but Fioren simply stared her down until she returned to her desk in defeat.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Panda offering her completed exam to the cryomancer. _That bitch…_ Kara frowned at her test again, but her concentration had already fled.

“Time is up,” Fioren said sharply. “If I may remind you, being the future Queen of Stormwind does not exempt you from an education. You are fortunate this was only a practice.”

Kara handed over her half-finished paper, avoiding her teacher’s glare. The few questions she’d managed to finish were probably wrong anyway. She knew Panda was laughing at her, but she ignored it.

“Time for some fresh air, girls.” Fioren swept over to the door and held it open for them. “Kakapos will be overseeing your second duel, along with your aunt. Both believe there were elements of unfairness in the previous fight, and wish to see another example.”

_Of course it was unfair!_ Kara wanted to shout. As if her idiot sister could ever beat her in a fair fight. But she bit her tongue and followed Fioren and Panda into the College courtyard. Some days, Kara wondered how she and Panda were related at all. The air was crisp and cold, a pleasant change from the stuffy classroom.

As soon as she stepped onto the field, she could feel the eyes of her teachers on her back.

“Over here. Opposite sides of the line. We have an aquamancer on standby, so don’t worry too much about hurting each other.”

Kara pulled a training sword from the rack and glanced over at Panda. She was scratching at the ground with her own blade and looked deeply nervous. _As she should._

“Fight!”

Kara barely had time to bring her sword to bear before Panda charged her. Light hummed around the smaller girl as she consecrated the ground beneath her. Golden sparks leaped up, burning Kara’s skin wherever they touched. She tried to back away and regroup, but Panda slashed at her chest, forcing her to engage. All she could do was block the hail of strikes, numbing her arms with the impact.

_Why is she so fast? I can’t track her!_

Kara stabbed at Panda’s left side, where she was weakest. As she dodged to the right, Kara kicked her in the knee. She stumbled and collapsed. Kara cast her own consecration spell around the fallen girl, and brought the blade down across Panda’s chest. Blood streamed from the gash, staining her blue armor black. Consecrate burns bubbled up on her arms and face.

Kara raised her sword again, but Panda managed to roll out of the way and her blade drove into the dirt. Before she could pull it free, icy pain struck right through her gut. Dizziness washed over her as Panda ripped her sword out of Kara’s stomach.

Time seemed to slow down. She saw the aquamancer hurrying over to her, but Panda was already drawing back her blade again, and Kara knew it would be a killing blow.

There was a flicker of movement. Gold armor flashed with Light as Panda was yanked up off the ground, screaming in terror. Kakapos ripped the weapon from her hand and punched her squarely in the jaw, sending her flying across the field.

“I believe that sword belongs to your aunt, Princess,” Kara heard him say. “She is less than pleased that you cheated in two duels… and even less so that you stole a weapon from her personal armory to do it.”

“The Crown is mine! Mine!” Panda screamed weakly. “She deserved it!”

“I’ll be the judge of that, you stupid girl. Get up and walk back to the classroom alone so that everyone can see what a failure you are.”

Kara would have laughed if she had the energy to do so, but her entire body felt like it was on fire. The aquamancer’s magic took hold a few moments later, and the pain began to retreat.

“Are you alright?” Kakapos waved his hand in front of her eyes.

“Yes.” Kara struggled to sit up. “What happened?”

“Her Majesty thinks your sister hid a disguised legendary weapon among the training swords so that you would be at a steep disadvantage when you fought. She might have gotten away with it too, if she hadn’t left little sticky fingerprints all over the door to the armory.”

“She tried to kill me,” Kara murmured.

Kakapos helped her slowly get to her feet. “I am not condoning her actions, Princess, but you cannot deny you have something worth killing for: the birthright to the Crown.”

Hurt welled up in Kara’s chest that had nothing to do with her injuries. “But I’m her sister.”

“Your aunts tried to kill each other more times than I can count, and they are twins just like you and Panda. Blood only matters when it is spilled, little one.”

Kara’s mind raced as Kakapos and Fioren returned to the classroom with her. She hated it, and yet it made perfect sense. Panda wanted the throne, and Kara was the only thing that stood in her way.

She would need allies, and plenty of them. _Who could she go to?_ The College of Stormwind was powerful, but they rarely, if ever, took a side in the succession. The shamans had the most influence over the succession, but only one was really allowed in Stormwind anyway. She would need to go far out of her way to seek them out. The warriors had their own set of problems, and they probably would never trust anyone from the House of Light… but maybe they would help someone who gave them something in return. Who could she depend on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> ~~J. Ally with the Mages at the College of Stormwind.~~  
>  (Unlocks "Ears in the Walls, Eyes in the Darkness")  
> VOTES: 3 
> 
> **K. Ally with the Shamans in the outer territories.  
>  (Unlocks "I Am Not Who I Am")  
> VOTES: 4**
> 
> ~~L. Ally with the Warriors in Stormwind.~~  
>  (Unlocks "Ask the Dead if Honor Mattered")  
> VOTES: 1 


	9. While the Dead Still Speak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soup, Pepper, and Croft investigate the remains in the dam at Crossfire.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "While the Dead Still Speak"  
> Plotline 0.2.4

“Gods, this is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done,” Pepper complained as he swam over to where Soup was still removing various body parts from the dam. “This is a terrible idea. I’m freezing, I’m wet, I’m covered in mud, and what the hell are you going to do with those anyway?”

“I don’t know, honestly,” Soup admitted. So far, along with the first skull, they’d retrieved two others, most of two arms, and four leg bones. He felt around the dam drain again and found what he had thought was a cluster of sticks stuck in some mud. It was undoubtedly a ribcage.

“I think Croft is about to curl up and cry,” Pepper said. The aquamancer was sitting on the shore, holding his head, and rocking back and forth. “He’s a little… fragile.”

“I noticed,” Soup muttered. “I think this whole torso is still connected, just not the arms or legs. Help me get it out of here.”

Pepper grimaced, but waded deeper into the murk. “Alright, I think I’m holding a hip bone. Pull?”

“Yeah. Slowly.”

The two warriors braced themselves and pulled. There was a slight scraping as the bone was dragged across the stony edge, but it popped free. Soup was rewarded with the sound of running water as it began to flow freely out of the drain once more.

“That’s one open. Let’s put the bones on the shore and try to figure out what’s blocking the others.”

 

A few hours later, the drains were flowing strong and the floodwaters were receding. Soup and Pepper looked at the carnage laid out on land, speechless with horror.

“How many?” Pepper finally asked.

“Eighteen skulls with twenty ribcages, so probably a total of twenty victims. Obviously we’re missing a lot of other parts. They’re probably way downstream in Thornhill though.” Soup glanced back at Croft. He was laying down, curled up in a fetal position.

Pepper unhooked his hammer from his belt and poked at one of the less-decomposed torsos that still had clothing. “Blue robes and plain hoods, or at least they started out blue. Heard anything in Stormwind about twenty missing mages?”

“Are you sure they’re from Stormwind?”

“Mages in Doriven and Arathi wear red, and these were definitely never red.”

“Haven’t heard anything,” Soup said. He looked at the bones again and racked his brain. “I used to know how to identify people from skeletons. Actually, Croft would know, if he was taught in Stormwind. I learned it from Ender and Plikie after they left the College and went to Arathi.”

“He’ll pass out again if you ask him to get this close.” Pepper looked at the remains again. “Here’s what we know. We have twenty dead people wearing Stormwind mage robes. They’re all somewhat short, and they’ve been in the water for different amounts of time. The freshest one is definitely female and had blonde hair. The one who’s only bones is taller than the others and has been dead much longer.”

Soup nodded slowly. “That’s pretty good.”

Pepper shrugged and started wringing water out of his tunic and trousers. “We don’t know how any of them died, and we don’t know who they were. If they’d been students at the College, everyone would be up in arms. You’re sure you heard nothing about anyone disappearing or dying?”

“Not like this,” Soup said.

Footsteps squished in the mud as Croft came tottering over to them. “Hey guys, are you done…” He trailed off when he saw the makeshift graveyard.

“Croft I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Pepper began.

“No… I think I’m ok. It just gave me a really bad shock when you started waving that skull around out of nowhere.” The aquamancer covered his nose and mouth with his hands. “What a stink.”

“If you’re done fainting, help us figure out who these belonged to.” Soup tried to keep the temper out of his voice, but it was difficult. Aquamancers were notoriously high-strung and hard to deal with.

“The tall one was the oldest,” Croft said shakily. “The rib ends aren’t as smooth as they are on the other skeletons. And… I think it was female. The hip bones are wider.”

“Can you look at the fresher one?” Soup asked."At least she still has a face."

“There’s not much left on her,” Croft muttered. “All we have is the hair. Her face is too swollen to get a good picture of what she looked like, and the clothes are drenched in mud. Looks like the neck decomposed very fast though. I need a better look… ” He drew his sword and carefully prodded the dead girl’s head to the side before covering his face with his hood and kneeling down next to it. “There’s a deep scratch across the ends of the first neck vertebra. Her throat was slit by someone incredibly strong. It almost decapitated her.”

“At least it was fast,” Pepper murmured.

“Yes. But it’s a messy death. I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of blood spray on a surface somewhere.” Croft seemed to be regaining his composure as he looked at the other remains. “They’re all female. The tallest one is the oldest, probably in her 40’s. Looks like she had at least one child. Sixteen of them were young teenagers; I can see the wisdom teeth are still inside the jaws. The last one still has baby teeth, so maybe around 8 years old. I don’t know what to tell you about the ones without heads, but we’ve probably got a pattern here.”

“Who could do that to a child?” Pepper asked, horrified.

“A monster,” Soup said quietly. “Look. Right now, we need to figure out what to do. Someone who can completely conceal the murders of twenty trainee mages is not someone we want to mess with.”

“We need to tell the College,” Croft said. “They’ll have a team out here by tomorrow to set this straight.”

“We need to tell Q__T,” Pepper said firmly. “If Crossfire was someone’s makeshift graveyard, we've got to let the House know.”

“I say we keep it secret,” Soup said. “We’re all safe as long as no one knows what we know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> ~~M. Inform the Mages at the College of Stormwind that at least twenty bodies of young female mages were found in the dam at Crossfire.~~  
>  (Unlocks "The Rot Within")  
> VOTES: 3 
> 
> **N. Inform Q__T and the Ministers of the House of Light that at least twenty bodies of young female mages were found in the dam at Crossfire.  
>  (Unlocks "The Hearts of Light")  
> VOTES: 6**
> 
> ~~O. Tell no one.~~  
>  (Unlocks "The Shadows We Cast")  
> VOTES: 0 


	10. Coldhearted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A preliminary team of mages arrives from the College to examine the situation in the void mine.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Coldhearted"  
> Plotline 0.2.5

After another day of waiting for the mine appraisal, and no word from Q__T, a note was delivered from the College to Axoy with the notice that a team was arriving at the site later that evening to inspect the sealed mine. Pran and Natalie met him at the charred doors and together they waited for the mages to show up. The mine felt eerie without the usual crowd of people bustling around.

They didn’t wait long. Hoofbeats echoed across the gravel path coming up from the city and Axoy could see two riders dressed in blue and silver making their way towards the mine.

“That must be them. I’ll go meet them,” Natalie said, and hurried away. Axoy took a deep breath and drew his sword. Pran looked nervous, but did the same. Neither of them wanted to relive their harrowing escape from the horde behind the iron doors.

The first thing they heard was the lead rider shouting at Natalie.

“All right, all right! Get out of my face! Just get these damn doors open. I’ve got one f***ing job here and I don’t want to be around this godforsaken place longer than I have to.” The cryomancer swung off his horse and threw the reins around a pole.

“Which asshole did they send us?” Pran asked quietly.

“No idea. He sounds like every damn mage stereotype and probably fights like it too,” Axoy whispered back. “We’ll make it really quick. They’ll get a look at these bitches, piss themselves a little, and then we’ll leave. Ten minutes, tops.”

He thought he heard Natalie say “Good luck” nearby, but when he turned around, she was already walking away with the second mage’s horse towards the makeshift stables.

“You in charge of this s***hole?” the cryo snapped at him.

“More or less.” Axoy pointed to the doors. “Once we open these, you either kill everything that’s in there or we all die. Got it?”

“Sounds fun. Actually I’ll open it myself, just stay behind me. Heatran, move your ass out of the way.” The cryo tapped his Frostbite on the doors. “Seems like a pretty trivial seal; I’m shocked it hasn’t been broken.”

“The House basically just threw warm bodies with a basic understanding of pyromancy at us. I wasn’t expecting miracles. Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m Sheer. This is Heatran. He needs to gather some data on the mine interior, and it’s gonna be our job to protect him while he does that because he’s more useless than usual when he’s busy. We had a third, but he decided to go be useless somewhere else.”

“Okay.” Axoy was dubious, but he tried not to let it show. “Where exactly?”

“He’s in the dead mine on the other side of Stormwind near the passage to Doriven. Cthuko wanted ‘control data’ so that he can compare the information when we get back. Honestly I could have just told him that he’s not gonna find s*** in a dead mine, but Creaam takes any excuse to not pull his f***ing weight.” Sheer put his hands on either side of the welded seam. “Stand back and cover your eyes. This is going to shatter.”

Ice poured off his fingers and flowed across the metal, coating the rusted iron with pure white frost. Axoy could hear the joints creaking and groaning as it froze. Sheer wedged the point of his Frostbite into the crack between the doors, and kicked hard. Dark fractures spread out from the impact, but it didn’t break. He scowled and hit it again, with the same result.

“Well that didn’t work. Uh, give it a ground slam. Nothing too violent.” He moved out of the way as Heatran shot him a judgmental glare. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Axoy tried not to think about what might be waiting just behind the door, and cast the spell right in front of the doors. The ground heaved as they tore and shattered. Metal shards flew in every direction and he felt a few stinging his arms and face. He blinked the dust out of his eyes and raised his sword, ready for an onslaught.

“This… looks empty,” said Sheer. He looked down into the mineshaft and shrugged. “Are these stairs safe?”

“They’re broken at the bottom so watch your step. I think there’s still some lights burning down here. At least the pyros knew how to light a damn torch.” Axoy and Pran went inside first, with Sheer and Heatran following and Natalie bringing up the rear. “Do what you have to do and let’s get the hell out before they actually do show up again.”

The cryos wandered down to the end of the staircase and poked around at the defunct equipment. Axoy’s nerves were raw from stress. He looked around again and again, watching for movement, but nothing happened.

“Okay, time for guard duty. I don’t know how long this is going to take.” Sheer tapped his Frostbite against a dark purple vein in the wall. “Are these void shards?”

“Yeah. We didn’t clear this mine out before the incidents got too close together to keep working. Do you need a sample of them?”

“I’ll get it.” Sheer picked at the crystals with the point of his sword, crumbling away the softer rock. Heatran was waving his own Frostbite and mumbling inaudible words. Tiny streaks of icy energy trailed through the air.

“Is this… smoking?” Sheer asked. “Huh, it’s like this wall is on fire or something. It’s spreading everywhere.”

“Get away from there!” Natalie screamed.

Axoy knew what it was before he saw it. Sheer stumbled back and managed to block the first few claw swipes of the void monster as it billowed out of the broken crystal. Two others followed in quick succession. Heatran was still muttering obliviously in the background.

“S***! Pran, keep him alive. Sheer, I don’t know what contact you have with your third teammate, but tell him to get his ass in here now. Natalie, stay with me. I don’t know how many are about to come through. We need to keep them from getting to the surface. Those doors aren’t going to close anymore.”

The first three were easy to deal with. Sheer blasted the group with bolts, blinding the glaring purple eyes. Axoy stabbed one through the head, and Natalie cast a seismic wave over the remaining monsters, forcing them down. Sheer blew a powerful freezing breath over them and swung the Frostbite, slicing through where their necks should have been. The smoky forms crumbled into bits of ice and vapor. But more were coming, flowing out of the shard vein.

There was a soft thud. Ethereal silvery shields flickered up around each of them as Pran’s last stand spell took effect. Natalie struck at another pair of lidless eyes as the claws swept down, missing her by inches. Heatran’s mumbling was getting louder, but Axoy wasn’t sure whether that was good or not. The mine was crowded with misty forms and slashing claws; ten maybe, or fifteen.

“He’s almost done. Hang in there.” Sheer looked battered and a little bruised, but he was still on his feet. Two monsters shattered into heaps of ice.

“Did you have a plan for closing the doors?” Axoy gasped. Another monster howled and its claws ripped through his arm. He ignored the pain and tried to look for Natalie, but she was behind too much of the nearby equipment.

“I figured we’d cross that bridge when we got to it!” Sheer flickered and vanished, reappearing across the room next to Heatran. “He’s done! Grab that crystal and let’s get out!”

Axoy managed to scoop up the broken void shard as Pran cast an intervene over him. Natalie grabbed his hand and they ran for the entrance. Heatran aimed a frostbolt over his shoulder, knocking a monster off of the stairwell, but they were surging up from the base. The intervene broke off and agony tore across Axoy’s back. His vision went black and he almost fell.

A hand grabbed him by the back of his armor and dragged him into the fading twilight. Unbearable cold washed over him and he managed to roll away from the source. The third cryomancer stood at the destroyed mine entrance, raising walls of blue ice across the tunnel mouth. Heatran was brushing himself off while Sheer gasped out almost inaudible insults at his teammate.

“Take the L and shut up. I saved your life and all I get is this s***.” Creaam finished closing the mineshaft and jabbed Sheer with the business end of his Broccomace. “Next time I won’t bother.”

“Fine. I don’t care.” Sheer wandered over to Axoy. “Here, I’ll take the shard.”

Axoy passed it to him and he tucked it away in the pocket of his armor. “When are we going to hear about a solution?”

“When we figure out what the hell happened in there, and how to stop it. Might take a while, though. In the meantime, stay safe and don’t tell the House that we were here. Fontn’s already on bad terms with them.” Sheer rolled his eyes. “He’s not exactly subtle about the fact that he’s sheltering the Fallen Princess at the College. Now that Serena runs things, I won’t be surprised if he gets ordered to give her up for execution next week.”

“Gods,” Axoy muttered. Natalie and Pran came over, wounded and bloodstained but alive.

“Let’s get the hell out of here. Nothing to do now but wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	11. The Hearts of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Alanyxe of the House of Light brings the news of the mage remains to Queen Regent Serena.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Hearts of Light"  
> PART 1 OF THE ARC 1 FINALE  
> 1.0.12

_“Though we live in the darkness of the mortal world,_

_I walk the Path of the Light, and may It bless me through all my days.”_

Serena let the last words of her chant echo through the hall. The gathered paladins murmured among themselves as they left the House.

She sighed and poured herself some wine. The Service always left her throat very dry from speaking so long, but it was her favorite part of the week. It was a time for her to offer up control and responsibility to something greater and higher than herself. She felt as weightless and radiant as Light itself as she moved through the prayers and songs, and feeling the eyes of the gathered masses on her was sweeter than any drug.

“Your Majesty… a moment of your time, please.” Serena turned around to see Alanyxe standing nervously behind her, twisting a folded piece of parchment in her hands.

“Can it wait?”

“No, this is crucial. I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Dismiss the Queensguard as well.”

“Fine. Come this way.” Serena brushed aside the curtain behind the pulpit and unlocked the door to the Daughter’s chambers. “Guards, remain outside. I cannot be disturbed.”

Her guards bowed deeply and stood on either side of the door. She and Alanyxe stepped inside, and Serena pushed a screen across the room so that she could change her robes in privacy.

“Your Majesty, Lady Q__T brought me this addendum to the mine report. In addition to their assertion that Crossfire is not viable for mining, they discovered something deeply disturbing.”

“Details, Alanyxe. My time is precious and I haven’t got all day.” Serena undid the high collar and her sash and placed them in the wardrobe.

“They retrieved the remains of upwards of twenty human bodies clogging the dam drains. Not only did it drown Crossfire in floodwaters, but the bodies were positively identified to be from Stormwind. It is assumed all are female, of varying ages, and they wore the robes of mages in training. The levels of decomposition vary, but it was estimated that the most recent set of remains is approximately a week and a half old.”

Serena’s heart nearly stopped.

“Who else knows about this?” she demanded.

“Only Q__T, Your Majesty.”

_Good..._ Serena thought about how to phrase her next sentence and thanked the Light that the idiot appraisers hadn’t taken the report to the College. She could handle issues within the House, but dealing with that nosy old Fontn and his pet rat Cthuko was another issue entirely.

“Alanyxe, if you believed that the House of Light was in danger, what would you do?”

There was a brief, confused silence.

“Your Majesty, I don’t see what that has to do with the situation at hand-”

“What would you do?”

“I would do anything, Your Majesty. It was the oath I took when… when your sister affirmed me as Minister of the House.” Alanyxe sounded very nervous, but Serena decided to be gentle with her and not push the issue of Lucy.

“I took that oath as well.” She studied her own face and body in the wall mirror, wondering if she liked what she saw. She was undoubtedly prettier than Lucy, but there was something about her twin sister that made men flock to her instead. “‘ _I am the Light in the darkness, the Heart among cowards. No deed is too dark, nor any sacrifice too great when the Void threatens to swallow us all._ ’ I did not know what those words meant until my brother fell sick.”

Alanyxe was very quiet. Serena almost wondered if she was still there.

“He had a fever, as you know. A slow lingering death whose progress could not be stopped by any power in our world.” She tightened the corset laces herself and began buttoning up the front of her gown. “I could not ease his passing. But I could ease his mind, while he still had it. His greatest fear was that the knowledge of the Emerald Heart would spread from the House. My idiot sister was excommunicated from the House and estranged from us after she threatened to reveal it.”

“I know, Your Majesty. I was there.”

“He mentioned the Emerald Heart to his maids while he was delirious. I caught them speaking of it one day to their superior, a woman called DarkAngel. It would have been a terrible loss of face for the House if they had been able to discover its purpose through his ramblings.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty.”

“Light forgive me,” Serena murmured. She set the crown of Stormwind on her head and pushed back the screens. “I had the woman and her daughter executed along with the four who spoke of the Heart. But it was not enough. All twenty of them were isolated from the rest of the palace because of my brother’s needs, but as he deteriorated, I knew they must all die.”

Alanyxe’s mouth fell open in shocked horror. “It… Your Majesty?”

“I kept my oath of protection to the House, Alanyxe. I am asking you to do the same.”

“But the deaths-”

“Unavoidable collateral damage. I could not waste valuable time from the Ministers or the House acolytes to care for him. The maids were expendable.”

“I…” Alanyxe blinked for a few moments, then took a deep shaky breath. “Very well, Your Majesty.”

“You are positive that no one else knows about this?” Serena asked her.

“Only Lady Q__T and the warriors who went to the appraisal site, Your Majesty.”

“Good. If they question us, tell them that the House is conducting an investigation, but say no more.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	12. Our Own Worst Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syncro brings Lady Aria's news back to the Shaman council, but it is badly received by the extremist faction. An exasperated Luc decides to silence them once and for all.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Our Own Worst Enemy"  
> PART 2 OF THE ARC 1 FINALE  
> 1.0.12

“Well?” Luc asked. “What was the response?”

“Nothing, probably,” Elivagar muttered.

“I have good news and bad news,” Syncro said. “I ask for the Council’s patience and understanding. This is not a matter that will be settled through conflict.”

The rest of the gathered shamans murmured assent.

“The Crown has agreed to return the Gorge territory to us, in exchange for Attherough. Summer only, but we are permitted year-round in Thornhill.”

Luc looked shocked and gratified. “That is excellent news.”

“Unfortunately… the primary mine for void shards in Stormwind went out of production several days ago. Neither Aria nor the Regent knew if they would be able to meet the trade quota for several months until a new one is established. She is trying to arrange the new higher amount for us, but it will take time.”

There were two seconds of stunned silence before the Council flew into an uproar. Every member was on their feet screaming in an instant, while Luc flailed around trying to quiet them.

“She said that? And you believed her! Idiot! The Crown has been looking for an excuse to cut us off for years!" Lily pointed her felflame blade at Syncro and the ground trembled around her feet. “Traitor!”

“The House would have destroyed us centuries ago if they wanted us gone!” Nightwolf shouted back. “They have no reason to lie!”

“The House and the Crown have never been united like this!” Elivagar snapped. “They control everything but the College now!”

“Silence. _Silence!_ You have brought nothing but dissent into our ranks, for no reason other than your own selfish cause!” Luc brandished his Gemini and the ground shook violently. Sparks from the fire flew everywhere, amidst the cries of panic from the other Council members. “None of you understand the risks of defying them. The fact that anything was granted to us at all is a miracle! We cannot keep pushing our luck!”

“Only because you will not allow it!” Doom argued. “All of us know we cannot go on like this. Territory bans, the threat of extermination by the House hanging over us every day, and now they refuse to supply us after teaching us to depend on them. We have nothing left to lose!”

“Enough!” Luc shouted. Earthen spikes tore apart the ground and erupted under Elivagar’s feet. He stumbled and fell to his knees. Everyone went quiet, looking up at the chieftain in shocked horror.

“I have been considering a solution that would unite our tribe again,” Luc said. “But after what I have seen here, there is only one way. Elivagar, you and those who call themselves your followers are hereby banished from the Council and the tribe. You threaten our survival under the Crown for a reality that no longer exists, and we grow more divided by the day. We cannot stand apart like this and hope to remain unscathed.”

“You can’t do this!” Mag shouted. “How can you exile us for speaking our minds?”

“I can, and I have. You will abandon Attherough Valley by tonight. Do not darken this place with your presence ever again.”

Elivagar slowly got to his feet, drawing his weapon. Green energy glittered dangerously around his hands and the felflame blade.

“This means war,” the earthwarden said quietly. “You will regret this.”

“Are you threatening-”

Luc broke off with a gasp of pain, clutching his side. Blood spurted from between his fingers as Nora ripped the violet blades of her void twig from his body.

“That was hurt,” Nora murmured sadly. “I stand with them.”

Chain heals arced across the room in a web of green light. Luc managed to summon his healing totem as he collapsed. Iris screamed and lunged at Nora, but a capacitor totem flared up, knocking her away. The earthwarden girl bolted for the door as Doom and Angel unleashed a storm of lightning bolts through the chaos. Syncro tried to return fire, but they were already backing away. Iris was clutching her face and holding her ruby thorn in shaky hands. Lightning burns webbed her cheek and neck where the totem had struck her. Elivagar, Mag, and Lily disappeared outside, and soon the two thunderlords retreated and followed them out.

“Coward!” Iris shrieked. She started to go after them, but Syncro grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“Let them run. Luc needs help.”

The chieftain was lying on his side, gasping for air. The totem had closed the gash in his side, but he moved slowly and seemed to still be in great pain. Nightwolf was helping him sit up while Cadences cast a second healing totem nearby.

“How could they do this?” Cadences whispered. “They’re going to get us all killed if they confront the Regent alone.” Her totem pulsed softly in the firelight. Syncro could see Iris’ burns starting to fade.

“I confirmed her as the queen. She will not betray me. Not after what I saw.” Luc’s breathing was becoming smoother and calmer. “But they are right. I am afraid of her. The Crown of Stormwind has not been united with the House of Light since the first of the Red Kings died.”

“What should we do?” Nightwolf asked.

“For now, carry on as if nothing happened. We cannot risk the House losing faith in us so soon after the new agreement. But they must be stopped.”

“We have to be able to bring them back,” Syncro said, trying to reassure him. “Maybe if they can be persuaded that it is too dangerous…”

“I do not want you to try and persuade them,” Luc said fiercely. “I want you to bring me their heads.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	13. I Am Not Who I Am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara sneaks out of her room to speak to the only shaman in Stormwind. A shocking secret is revealed that may make or break her claim to the throne.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "I Am Not Who I Am"  
> PART 3 OF THE ARC 1 FINALE  
> 1.0.12

Later that night, Kara threw on a heavy fur cloak over her pajamas and climbed out of her window, using the ivy on the Palace walls to slide down to the ground. It was too dark for the street lamps to cast much light, and the city was almost empty.

She had to see Zincamania. Maybe he could talk to Luc on her behalf. Serena had insisted that she not mention the incident with Panda to anyone, but she had decided that the shamans were her best option. The chieftain of the shamans had confirmed every single ruler of Stormwind, and even if she died, at least she could try to make a deal with them. Kara tried not to smile with satisfaction when she thought of what would happen. Panda would never wear the Crown.

Zincamania lived near the Palace, separate from the House of Light and the warriors’ quarter. Shamans were not allowed in the city, but he was generally overlooked by the Crown for his services to the House and the College. Serena had grudgingly allowed Kara and Panda to take lessons from him, and he had taught Kara a few basic lightning tricks. It was a long stretch to think he might trust her, but it was her only chance.

There was a light on in his small home, and two voices arguing inside. Who was awake at this time of night? Kara crouched down behind a dense hedge and listened as hard as she could. She probably didn’t have much time before the Queensguard realized she was missing.

“Idiot! Do you understand what I risked? Decades spent gaining the trust of the House and the Regent, on the line for you and your foolish ways.” It was Zinc scolding his visitor. Kara tried to suppress the panic that bubbled up in her stomach every time he was angry with her. Last time, he’d burnt her fingers with lightning until they were numb.

“I’m not saying that I’m not grateful!” the visitor snapped. “You chose possibly the worst time to bring me here-”

“The Regent does not care about the shamans, only that the warriors know their place. If you use what little sense you have to keep your head down and your mouth closed, you will remain unseen. I know they are in chaos now, but their focus is not on me.”

“Any outsiders will be suspect! Word will reach the Crown soon that the shamans have fallen into civil war, and you will be thrown out as well. Come back with me. None of us should be anywhere near Stormwind when they hear of it.”

“Loco, how many times have I told you? They do not consider me an outsider. You, on the other hand, are forbidden from being anywhere near the city. Take my notes and rejoin Elivagar. Where is he now?”

“They’re making their way to Thornhill.” Loco’s footsteps clicked back and forth across the room. He was probably pacing, Kara thought. “I don’t know how long they’ll be able to stay. It is already too late in the year to remain in the forest. Perhaps if they moved to Crossfire for now?”

“Crossfire is uninhabitable. I do not know why.” Zinc sounded exasperated. “In the summer, the tribe will be in Gorge and Thornhill. Can the Unbroken move to Neolithic from there?”

“Yes,” Loco said. “But I don’t know where they can go if Luc starts actively hunting them down. Shamans are still welcome in the city of Arathi, but we all know that is the first place they will look.”

“It is months away. We still have time. Just get my information to Elivagar. I can only pray that he listens to me. They will be in terrible danger if they plan to defy the House, and they have no leverage.”

“His heart rules his hand,” Loco muttered.

“It always has,” Zinc said. “How many of the others left the tribe with him?

“Thirty, give or take. Some refused to leave and were executed. But they do have leverage. I spoke to Lily before I left the camp. She told me of some source of information that she and Mag are sheltering. Not even Elivagar knows about it yet. It is an outsider.”

“From Stormwind?” Zinc asked.

“Yes.”

“How unusual. What do they know?”

“Lily did not say. But she spoke of the Emerald Heart. I do not know the specifics.”

“The only person with details of the Heart is the Fallen Princess,” Zinc said. “Is it her?”

“Again, I don’t know,” Loco snapped at him.

“Fine. In the meantime, we must wait. Elivagar will not be pleased but we need to remain invisible. I have no faith in the Queen Regent, but the twin heirs are useful, for now. Anything that draws the attention of the House and the Regent away from me is useful.”

Kara realized her legs were numb from crouching. She frowned and tried to think about what she had heard. The shaman tribes were at war with each other? What was going on?

“The Princesses are rather endearing, for what they are worth,” Zinc was saying. “The older one shows signs of certain Thunderlord gifts. I wish I could train her in the traditional way, but her tyrant of an aunt permits me very little time with either of them. The younger one prefers earthwarden, but does not enjoy our lessons. She seems withdrawn, but I know the bloodline of the Red King. The girl has deadly ambitions that she hides behind a passive shell.”

“Do either of them know?” Loco asked.

“About me? No, of course not. They are children. You know how children talk. But I am not a stranger to them, and perhaps the heir to the throne will be the one who supports the Unbroken, if it comes to that.” Zinc rustled some papers and Kara could hear him folding them up.

“Take these to the camp and warn him about the delicate situation here. The Regent was shockingly truthful with Syncro about the situation in the mines. We must find a way without force to try and turn the rest of the tribe to our cause. It does not help us that Nora attacked Luc. Idiot girl, trying to kill an Earthwarden. Even if she had struck a mortal blow, it is unlikely that he would have died.”

“I know,” Loco said. “I told her. It only makes my work harder.”

“Here, I’ve made up a place for you to stay in the attic. I have a problem with visitors from the College at unusual times and they must not be allowed to see you here. Remove your mask and wear warrior armor if you need to leave the house.”

“Thank you. I won’t stay long.”

The lights inside flickered out. Footsteps creaked up the stairs to the attic.

Kara began the short walk back to her room in the chilly darkness, thanking the Light that no Queensguard had come looking for her. She climbed back up the ivy-covered wall and turned their words over in her head.

_“The heir to the throne will be the one who supports the Unbroken…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	14. The Observation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mage team present their findings to the Head Mage and Cthuko, then discuss possible solutions.
> 
> START: Arc 2 "Fire, Ice, Water, Void"  
> Plotline 2.0.1

“You’re alive,” Cthuko said when Creaam walked into his office. “I’m shocked.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Creaam snarled. “I’m sure you were hoping for three body bags.” He tossed a roll of papers at the smug pyromancer. “Here. The logs from the survey.”

Cthuko said nothing as he unrolled them and examined the contents. “Everything seems to be in order. Get your team in here. Fontn will be here sometime in the next two hours, but he didn’t really say when.”

“Typical.” Creaam went outside and found Sheer and Heatran trying to duel on the front lawn. Frostbolts sprayed across every visible surface. One exploded just over his head.

“Holy s***, stop, stop!” Creaam blocked a frostbolt across his shield and stepped in between them. “Get inside. Fontn is going to hear it in two hours.”

“Wow, I didn’t know he was serious about this,” Sheer remarked. “I thought he just wanted us dead.” He put away his Frostbite and held open the heavy front doors for his teammates. “Go on. Age before beauty.”

Heatran snorted loudly but went ahead.

To everyone’s surprise, Fontn was already there. The old Pyromancer had his feet up on the desk and looked bored out of his mind. Cthuko was fussing over the reports and laying out assorted notes and diagrams.

“So who do you want to hear from first? The guy who did everything or the guy who did nothing?” Sheer looked pointedly at Creaam.

“I’d like to hear from the one who talks fastest,” Fontn grunted. “Get on with it. I’ve had three hours of sleep with the Regent whining in my ear like a mosquito. And no one has brought my tea.”

“Okay.” Heatran pointed at the first two diagrams. “Monsters in the shard mines are real. Claws, fangs, murderous intent, blah, blah, blah. Only present when the void shard crystals are broken off a vein, and even then, there's only a small to moderate chance that they'll appear. Intact crystals are benign.”

Fontn yawned loudly. “M’kay.”

“Creaam’s analysis found no monsters in dead mines where dust is present but no shards. Obviously we’re not going to suggest sending the workers to those because the cost of smelting dust into shards is too high. The question we need to answer is what happens when the crystals are broken, and why?”

“Are we at your conclusions yet?” Fontn snapped.

“Uh, we can be.” Heatran flipped over a few more pages. “I recorded and analyzed the reaction after Sheer broke the crystal and we were attacked. There was an incredible energy surge that did not dissipate after the break, and the first monster appeared seconds after it happened. I believe they’re being generated straight out of the surge. Clearly they’re not just popping out of thin air for no reason. We need to find a way to lower that energy or restrain it somehow so that it doesn’t do this.”

“Have you tried anything yet?”

“Here’s the embarrassing part,” Heatran said bleakly. “I tried submerging and breaking a shard sample in water, then ice. The theory was that energy in the form of heat would be absorbed into the medium without concentrating.” He nervously shifted from foot to foot. “I’m pretty sure the entire College could hear me trying to kill that thing before it got out of my lab. Needless to say, it didn’t work.”

“It’s not heat energy,” Creaam said. “Dangerous heat surges would have killed all of the warriors by now if it was. It’s more like the energy we all channel to cast spells, so my theory was to create a sort of bubble around the broken shard, using an extension of my arcane shield. I thought it would be absorbed into the shield and disappear.” He spread out his notes, which were slightly charred around the edges. “It… I don’t even know what happened. The shield augmented the surge instead of absorbing it. The beaker I was using exploded in my face and blew out every window in my lab. Yes, I’ve already been to an aquamancer. Rainbow and Tgger dug broken glass out of my forehead for two hours. I’m sure they’ll tell you all about it.”

“Well that’s disgusting.” Fontn took his feet off the desktop and sat upright. “Okay, you tried. Sheer, got anything for me?”

“I haven’t tested this at all.” Sheer pointed to his notes. “But here’s the calculations. I’m not trying to somehow vent the energy output. We need to find a way around the surge and prevent it from happening at all. I came up with this chemical reaction that we tested last year for large scale blast mining. It puts off a huge amount of energy that we might be able to redirect into magic dust to fuse into artificial void shards without the smelting process. The issue is that… I can’t test it without the possibility of blowing everything up if it goes wrong.”

“Why is it always you who wants to blow things up?” Fontn muttered. “Every time… Hmm. This is a modified version of what we did last year. The materials are cheap and readily available. This is very economical, but I have serious doubts about this working.”

“I have serious doubts about Sheer working,” Creaam said quietly.

“Shut up,” Sheer hissed. “I’m trying to calculate a small version of it for testing, but it’s difficult. The energy output doesn’t scale regularly at all. I’ve found no pattern in the lab records from last time. Either it puts out too little and nothing will happen, or it puts out too much and I’ll end up killing myself and half of the College.”

“Please do,” Heatran said under his breath.

“I swear to the gods,” Sheer began.

“L,” Creaam whispered.

“All of you, knock it off,” Fontn growled. “Get your individual teams together and start figuring out something else that isn’t a death sentence for everyone involved. Cthuko, assign three more full teams to the project. I’m putting a gag order on the entire College until it’s done. You do not discuss this with anyone, especially the Ministers. The Regent is hounding me about her sister all day anyway, and the last thing we need is the House wondering why we’re suddenly taking an interest in the mines.”

“They don’t even have a new one yet, do they?” Heatran asked.

“Nope. The Ministers of the House sent a new team today to try out a site at the Neolithic ravine. They’re really desperate if they’re looking in a goddamn desert two days out from anywhere civilized.”

“Neolithic? What was wrong with Crossfire? I surveyed it myself, those sites can’t be all bad,” Sheer protested.

“There’s something fishy going on at Crossfire but I don’t dare ask the Regent when she’s in a mood like this. The original appraisal team was laid off and everyone is banned from the site on the orders of the House. I wish I knew something about it.”

“Weird,” Creaam said. “Alright. I’ll go back to the lab and try again. Given a couple of weeks, we’ll figure something out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	15. The Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new team of appraisers sets out for the Neolithic chasm, hoping for a viable mining site. But once again, they discover much more than they bargained for.
> 
> START: Arc 2 "Fire, Ice, Water, Void"  
> Plotline 2.1.1

“Are we there yet?”

“I will cut out your tongue and feed it to you if you ask again.”

“Just wondering.”

Tiff rubbed the bridge of her nose and resisted the urge to reach for her sword. The House of Light had repeatedly denied her request to work with Pepper and Croft at the Neolithic site, and had dumped three mages from the College at Doriven on her instead. She wasn’t sure how helpful they were going to be, but at least she had someone to blame when Axoy and Q__T inevitably yelled at her.

“This is the chasm entrance,” Echo said nervously. “The site is about fifty feet in. We’ll have to leave our horses at some point before it gets too narrow, but I think we’re good for now. No one’s claustrophobic, right?”

“I am,” said Rainblaze weakly.

Tiff could feel her blood pressure rising. “They sent a claustrophobic mage to investigate a mine? Did you consider the fact that we might be underground for a while?”

“It was an order!” Rainblaze protested. “If Pykxe orders you to jump off a bridge, you don’t say no, you ask if he wants you to do a backflip on the way down.”

“Gods. Well it’s too late now. Sport, look after him and get him out of here if you think he’s about to lose it. Let’s get this over with.”

They rode through the trail at the bottom of the chasm. The stone walls pressed closer and closer on either side until the horses couldn’t continue. Tiff wedged the reins underneath a large boulder and the four walked single-file along the path. She didn’t mind being in a closed space. All warriors grew accustomed to it after enough time spent in the mines.

“This is it,” Echo said. They were in a larger area of the crevasse, with natural pillars of broken stone and two more ravines that cut across their path. “Those are paths that go to the surface from the site. It’s a long way up; leaves you about a mile from where you started and the horses can’t fit.”

“Are you sure this is the right area?” Tiff asked. “I can’t imagine the House spending time and money on developing something this labor-intensive.”

Echo shrugged. “Unless this map is wrong, we’re here. I guess they’re under some pressure to restore a shard source. Any source.”

“All right. Sport, you’re with me. Echo, take Rainblaze and set up a perimeter. There’s probably nothing wrong out here, but I want to do this safe and fast.” Tiff took out her appraisal papers and started making notes. “‘ _Very poor accessibility. No natural water and no signs that it was ever here. Rocks and sand as far as I can see._ ’” Tiff stopped writing and frowned. Something was scratching nearby. She had thought it was only her pencil on the paper, but it was still coming from somewhere behind her. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” Sport pulled down his hood and slowly turned around. “Yeah. Sort of a dry scraping. The echoes in here are making it worse than it seems. I wouldn’t worry. It’s probably just the wind blowing sand over the rocks up top.”

“Okay.” Tiff tried to block out the sound as she brushed at the layered rock faces with her hands. Years of dust sifted to the ground, revealing the dark purple streaks of void shards.

“Would you look at that?” Sport said. “A good site, for once.”

“They’re not the best quality, but there’s plenty of them here and it’s all in the open. We won’t have to go underground at all.” Tiff wrote a few more lines on the appraisal. “‘ _Visible veins in the rock face with minimal to no alteration of the original landscape. No way to measure how deep the veins actually go, but I’m willing to bet on this site. I do recommend this for development, and I have been truthful to the extent of my knowledge._ ’” She signed it with a flourish and folded it up again. “We’re done. Seems like a waste of effort after all this travel. Where are Echo and Rainblaze? The perimeter wasn’t really needed.”

“I’m over here,” Echo called faintly. His voice seemed to reverberate through the chasm, and it was impossible to know where it was actually coming from. “We found something… and you’re not going to like this at all.”

Tiff gritted her teeth and prayed that she wouldn’t find anything that invalidated the site. It had been almost two days of travel out of Doriven to even reach the damn place, and she wasn’t about to give up on it easily.

“Sport, come on. Echo, I can’t tell where you are. Can you see me?”

“Yes, just keep walking forward and turn right. I’m on the other side of this crevice in the rock. You need to come through and look at this. I don’t even know what I’m seeing.” An arm and a leg appeared from behind a boulder, followed by Echo’s face. He was covered in dust and there were cobwebs clinging to his hood. “Can you fit through here?”

Tiff examined the crack. It was small, and completely hidden behind the boulder until she looked from a certain angle. “I don’t know. Can you try to describe what’s in there?”

“There’s a huge room full of dust and broken crap, but then there’s a hole in the ground and blast debris. It looks like something exploded, but there’s also some kind of skeleton in the hole too, I think? It’s not damaged at all but there’s stuff missing.”

Adrenaline shot through Tiff’s veins. “Wait, did you say there’s a body? Can you tell who it is?”

“No, I can’t tell who it is from the damn ribcage, the arms, and two femurs.” Echo’s voice took on an impatient edge. “Just get in here. Rainblaze is in here too and he’s fine. The space is huge behind this wall.”

Tiff put down her sword and pushed it through the crack in the rock. “Alright, I’m coming in. Do you have a light?”

“I made a torch. We’re fine. Just hurry.”

She turned sideways and squeezed through. It wasn’t comfortable, but she didn’t get stuck. The aquamancer wedged himself through after her. The air inside was cool and dry, and the floor was covered in soft sand. A light appeared in the gloom and Echo waved at her to follow him.

“This way. Down here.”

He lowered the torch and pointed down. “See? What’s that?”

Tiff peered into the deep pit. It was undoubtedly a grave, a perfectly oval hollow whose sides were pocked with blast marks. Debris lay everywhere around the outside. At the bottom, the remnants of a dusty skeleton lay among ceramic pots and other items. Tiff thought she saw a sparkle of gold among the artifacts. There was a long black sword lying at the skeleton’s side, almost buried in other things, and she thought it might have been a void edge.

“Someone important was buried here,” Tiff said. “But where are the other bones? It’s like someone robbed the grave and only took the remains. They even left his weapon.”

“I’m more scared of the fact this wasn’t broken from the outside,” Rainblaze said. There was a tremor in his voice and Tiff figured he wouldn’t last long before he had a full-blown panic attack. “It came outwards. The remains should be buried in broken rocks, but all the pieces are on the outside. Is that thing… that thing still alive?”

“Impossible, it’s dead,” Tiff said firmly. “And it’s been dead for decades, maybe even longer.” She gripped the edges and leaned over even farther. “The arms are crossed over the ribcage. The hands were together. That’s strange. Usually people are buried holding their weapons.”

“Maybe it was something even more valuable,” Echo suggested. “Something small, but worth more than anything else in there.”

Rainblaze grunted loudly nearby as he heaved up a huge piece of the shattered coffin lid. It fell back into the sand with a soft thump. “There are carvings on the stone. I don’t know what it says.”

“Here.” Tiff, Echo, and Sport picked up the other edges and they managed to flip it over. The carvings were almost intact, the lines razor sharp and precise. “This was the top of the coffin lid. The bottom is wrecked from the blast. I don’t want to know what happened there.”

“I have no idea what these characters even are,” Sport said as he traced the carved letters. “But there’s an image at the bottom. We’ve only got half of the thing here, so I can’t be certain of anything, but it’s a man’s head, wearing a paladin helmet. His hands are raised and he’s holding… I don’t know what that is. It’s not his sword. There are lines coming out of it. Rays of Light, maybe.”

Echo took out a piece of paper and a pencil and began to copy the strange letters. “Maybe I can show this to someone at the College. I’ll go to the one at Stormwind, the library there is better.”

“Well, if there's nothing else weird here, I'll just put down that it’s an old noble’s grave from Doriven, I guess.” Tiff pulled out her appraisal again. “This doesn’t nullify the site, so I’ll make a note that this side of the chasm is unstable and has no shards.”

“I don’t know if you should do this,” Sport said slowly. “No one from the House told you this gravesite was in the region. Maybe we weren’t supposed to find it.”

Tiff looked at her notes. "We have to tell them it's here, or else we're putting the miners in danger. The wall isn't stable. What if they get too close and it collapses?"

Echo frowned and looked around the room. “Even if we don't tell them, there’s nothing of value here but some gold artifacts and a void edge. The College can send a team out here to clean it up and preserve everything they can. You’ve got your mining site and we might get an answer as to how a dead man broke up his own coffin from the inside. But it’s up to you, I suppose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **Research the unknown inscription on the lid of the Tomb at the library of the College?**
> 
> **A2: Yes  
>  (Unlocks "The Shades in Her Past")  
> VOTES: 8**
> 
> ~~B2: No~~  
>  (Unlocks "Stay With Me")  
> VOTES: 0 
> 
> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **C2: Tell Q__T at the House of Light about the shattered Tomb in the ravine.  
>  (Unlocks "They Are Awake")  
> VOTES: 6**
> 
> ~~D2: Remove the notes from the mine appraisal form and keep it secret from the House.~~  
>  (Unlocks "Stronger Together")  
> VOTES: 2 


	16. The Hypothesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tiff goes to speak with Lady Q__T about the strange tomb and carvings, while Echo and Sport consult the Library of the College of Stormwind for advice on translating the unknown language.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Hypothesis"  
> Plotline 2.1.2-2.1.3

Tiff tucked her sword into her belt and braced herself before entering the House of Light. It was always a nerve-racking experience, but she couldn’t shake the dread that settled over her as she made her way to Q__T’s chambers and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Q__T grumbled. “And it had better be some damn good news, this early in the morning.”

Tiff opened the door and nearly screamed. Queen Regent Serena was occupying the chair behind Q__T’s desk, and watching her like a hawk. Q__T herself was sitting on one of her comfortable poufs by the fireplace, looking very disgruntled.

“Your Majesty,” Tiff said quickly. She bowed, not knowing what else to do. “Forgive me, I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“No one ever does,” Serena said cryptically. “Have a seat. I am only here because we have had difficulty in finding a shard source since the oversight at Crossfire. If the site at Neolithic proved fruitful, I must bring the report to Aria straightaway.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Tiff made her way to the cushioned seat and brought out the appraisal. “Lady Q__T, the site appears to be well above-average in quantity of shards, though the quality is doubtful in places. I, along with the assistants from Doriven, approve this site for development and mining.”

“Praise the Light,” Q__T murmured fervently. She looked at Serena and nodded. “We are saved.”

“May I see it?” Serena held out her hand for the report and Q__T passed it over. “What is the addendum at the bottom?”

“There is an unstable section of the chasm, Your Majesty,” Tiff explained. “It seems to be a crypt of an ancient paladin noble from Doriven, containing remains, a quantity of grave goods, and the deceased’s weapon. There are no shard veins present, so I’ve requested the area be avoided during mining.”

“A tomb in the Neolithic chasm?” Serena asked quietly. “With an incomplete skeleton and a grave lid that seemed to have been shattered from within?”

Tiff felt her heart drop down to her toes as she looked up at the Queen Regent. “I don’t believe I mentioned either of those things, Your Majesty.”

“Answer my question, warrior. Was it the tomb I described?”

“Yes,” Tiff said, and drew her sword.

Serena moved faster than she had expected. The Regent’s claws were almost at her throat before Tiff managed to parry the blow. The shock sent agonizing waves down her arm and she nearly dropped her weapon. A gold ring of consecration flared up around her, stinging her skin. Tiff staggered back, casting a seismic wave across the office and throwing Q__T and the Regent away from her. They were still too close. She had to get out. She had to run. The door seemed so far away now…

Cold iron bit into her back. Tiff felt warm liquid drenching the inside of her armor. She tried to summon the energy for another spell, but she couldn’t move. As dark fog fell over her eyes, she heard Serena’s voice, echoing as if from a great distance.

“Get rid of the body.”

**\----+----**

When Echo and Sport arrived at the College, it was nearly empty. Only a few mages were outside practicing spells on the lawn, and the library was deserted. The librarian was reshelving stacks of spellbooks and scientific texts when they came in.

“Hello?” Sport whispered.

The mage put down his books and turned around. “Yes? I’m Sindre. Can I help you two? Those red robes say you’re not from around here.”

“We’re from Doriven, but we had a question about… something we found a while back.” Sport tried to be as vague as possible about the details of their expedition. He knew Tiff was going to speak to Q__T about the tomb, but he decided to err on the side of caution. “There was some writing on an artifact we found out at the Neolithic chasm. Have you seen these characters before? Neither of us knew what we were looking at.”

Echo unfolded his drawing and held it out. Sindre pushed his glasses up his nose and peered at it.

“Yes… I believe I’ve seen these before, or something similar to them anyway. It’s old script from before the tribes were united under the Red King. Hundreds of years old. I don’t believe anyone has translated it successfully, but we’ve made some extrapolations and assumptions from the context.”

“What context?” Echo asked.

“It’s on the tombs or grave goods of ancient paladin leaders, the forerunners of the House of Light. As you know, the House was founded by the Red King after his legendary defeat of the shamans. The records of that time have faded into myths, but we still have a few fragments left over from previous expeditions. Might I ask where you found this inscription, exactly?”

Sport decided to throw caution to the winds. “It was a broken coffin lid, from a crypt carved into the bottom of the ravine. The area was well-hidden, but the grave had already been ransacked when we saw it. The occupant was… in pieces. Only a few assorted bones were left. His weapon was an old void edge.”

“Hmm.” Sindre rubbed his chin and looked at his pile of books. “I believe I remember a survey team from Stormwind retrieving items from a site like that, but it was decades ago. I am probably mistaken. Nevertheless, I’ll find the records for you. Any mage worth their hood kept decent records back then. Now it’s all chicken scratch and spilled chemicals. Don’t get me started.”

“Thank you,” Sport called. Sindre disappeared down an aisle.

Echo picked up the nearest book pile and started examining the titles. “An Analysis of the Inherent Energy Contained in Matter. A Theory of the Void and What Lies Beyond. Long Term Effects of Exposure to Fluorescing Elements. An Analysis of the Process of Creating Legendary Weapons. How to Kill A Cryomancer. Oh, that one’s blank. I guess someone doesn’t like their team leader.”

A group of blue-robed mages walked in, talking loudly. Sport heard Sindre shushing them from behind several shelves as he came back around with an armful of books.

“Here are all of the Neolithic surveys from the past hundred and fifty years. I’ve also brought this out, to compare. It’s some kind of ritual gold medallion, missing the center stone, but the lettering on it looks like what you’ve got there. Here.” Sindre set a little wooden display box on the table and dropped the records in front of Echo. “Bring out your drawing again, and let’s have a look at these.”

Echo unfolded his paper and Sindre put the golden pendant next to it.

“Oh my. They’re alike but not the same. You see how the line angles on the medallion are softer than the drawing, and how there are more round letters than triangular? Are you sure this is accurate?”

“It’s as close as I could get it,” Echo said. “Maybe the tomb had an older and less sophisticated version.”

“What is this here?”

Sport nearly jumped out of his skin. The woman’s voice came from right behind him, and when he turned, her face was hidden by a blue hood. Sindre’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he bowed very low.

“I know what you have found, and I cannot remain silent any more. Follow me. I will not speak of it to him.”

Sport looked at her nervously, then glanced back at Sindre, who was practically quaking in fright.

“Who are you?”

“I asked you to follow me. There are too many people nearby. The library storage room will be more private.”

Echo shrugged and folded up the paper. Sport touched the handle of his staff for reassurance, and they followed the hooded woman behind the high librarian’s desk and through a heavy wooden door. The air inside was dark and dry and smelled of old leather and paper. High shelves blocked out the dim light from glass-covered lamps. She stopped below one of them and faced the two mages.

“You must promise me one thing before I tell you this. You must flee Stormwind and take shelter with Identity in the College of Arathi. I know you came here with a warrior girl from Doriven. She is dead. The Regent executed her this morning. The House will hunt you down as well when they hear that you know of the Tomb.”

“What are you talking about?” Sport gasped. “Who are you?”

The woman threw back her hood. Light shone off golden-blonde hair, pale skin, and wide blue eyes. Sport’s blood turned to ice in his veins as he realized who it was.

“Your Majesty…” Echo’s voice was a weak whisper.

_No. It isn’t Serena._

The longer Sport looked at her, the less she resembled the Regent. Her face was less harsh than Serena’s, and though she was still pretty, she had none of Serena’s cruel, divine beauty. There was real fear in the woman’s eyes. Sport had never seen the Regent afraid…

“I am the Fallen Princess,” she said quietly. “But you may call me Lucy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **E2: Take Lucy’s advice, then flee Stormwind and ask Identity for sanctuary in the College of Arathi.  
>  (Unlocks "The Queen of Hearts")  
> VOTES: 7**
> 
> ~~F2: Refuse Lucy’s advice and her information.  
>  (Unlocks "In the Shadows")  
> VOTES: 1~~


	17. Buried Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Panda take an early-morning lesson with Zincamania, and Kara confronts him about the conversation she overheard at his house.
> 
> BEGIN: "Buried Secrets"  
> Plotline 2.2.0

“Good morning, Princess.”

Kara blinked sleep out of her eyes and looked up at the maid. “It’s still dark out, go away.”

“The shaman is waiting with your sister in the garden. He believes early lessons will help you practice discipline.”

 _Zinc._ Kara threw back her covers in a sudden burst of energy. “Tell him I’ll be there as fast as I can.” She pulled on her armor over her pajamas, figuring he wouldn’t expect much more from her at such an ungodly hour. Finally she’d be able to talk to him about what she’d overheard. Kara turned the strange words over in her mind. The Unbroken. The Emerald Heart. What was going on? She bolted down the stairs, fully awake, and saw Zinc and Panda on the lawn next to the Palace rose garden.

Her sister shot her a vicious glare as she approached. Kara hoped that Zinc would be watching them closely enough to prevent her sister from trying to kill her a second time.

“I would like you to practice a duel this morning, using only what I have taught you. Do not use totems, and fight to the best of your abilities. Panda, you may attempt to cast a chain heal on me if you need it, but I would prefer that you use Earthliving weapon instead. Kara, I know you are still having difficulties with your lightning rod. Often the spell will work in a true fight, and not in a practice setting. I believe this will improve both of you.”

“It’s three in the morning,” Panda mumbled. “I barely have the energy to walk.”

“I myself have endured far worse than an early morning practice, Princess. You will survive. Now, stand apart from each other, and do your best.”

Panda flicked her sword in Kara’s direction. There was a _wooshing_ sound, and Kara barely had time to dodge before a boulder sailed at her face. It grazed her side, knocking her to the ground, and exploded in the plants nearby, flattening them. An earthen spike struck her shoulderblade and tossed her into the air. Kara tried to aim a lightning bolt at her, but Panda cast another spike before she could fire. There was a loud ripping sound as a dozen nearby rosebushes uprooted along the spike’s path. Kara let it explode under her feet, toppling her over, and when Panda rushed in for another one, she raised her training sword and concentrated as hard as she could.

Blue-white light erupted from the sky in an exhilarating flash. The shockwave picked up Panda and tossed her away as if she was a leaf in the wind. Kara hurled chain lighting at her and fired off a volley of lightning bolts, leaving scorch marks on the nearby trees. Panda was trying to regroup, and a burst of green light shone around her sword as she rushed Kara again.

“In the name of the Light, what are you doing out here?!”

Kara and Panda both froze in terror and looked up. Serena rushed down the stairs looking unusually disheveled, brandishing her claws in her right hand.

“Idiots! Why would you duel in my garden? Look at my roses!”

“It wasn’t her fault,” Zinc started to say.

Serena took two fast steps and backhanded Panda across the face.

Kara flinched, feeling the blow as if she too had been struck. Her aunt had hit her plenty of times, but never like this. Panda curled up, whimpering and clutching her cheek. Blood ran down her neck from where Serena’s rings had torn her skin.

“Go to your room and do not come out until I say so. I will see to it that you will replant these personally.” Serena hauled her up by the neck of her armor and dragged her up the stairs back to the Palace. “Kara, I expect you to return very soon as well. Zinc, if I see this happening again, I will throw you out of Stormwind with my own hands.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Zinc murmured. “It won’t happen again.”

They watched the pair until the door slammed behind them. Zinc sighed and stowed his felflame blade away.

“I suppose next time I will have to choose a different place to practice. Send my apologies to your sister, Princess. I did not intend for her to be punished for my mistake.”

“Wait,” Kara said as he started to walk away. “I have a question… if you can’t answer, that’s fine. But I was just wondering.”

He stopped and looked back at her. “I will do my best to answer, Princess. What is it?”

“Who are the Unbroken?”

Something flickered across Zinc’s face. Kara couldn’t tell what it was. Fear? Anger? Both? But it was gone too fast for her to see.

“You are not very quiet, Princess. I knew someone was outside when I was speaking to the messenger.”

“Tell me. Or else I’ll tell Aunt Serena that you brought another shaman into Stormwind.”

“I would be shocked if your Aunt Serena would believe you. It would involve admitting that you left the Palace at night to talk to me. Nevertheless, I will tell you. Sit down, Princess, this will take a while.”

Kara sat down with him under one of the drooping evergreen trees. The branches shielded them from the Palace windows.

“About fifty years ago, when your father held the throne of Stormwind, a faction started emerging from the different shaman tribes. I do not want to speak ill of the dead, but he was a harsh leader, and we considered him an enemy. There were many among us who spoke of taking the crown of Stormwind for ourselves, and using its power for our own means. We called ourselves the Unbroken, because we refused to accept the authority of Stormwind over us, and dedicated ourselves to restoring the shamans to their original power.”

“Oh.” Kara suddenly felt embarrassed that she had threatened him. “I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize, Princess, this was long before you were born. The only thing that stood in our way was the House of Light, led by your aunt Lucy at the time, and we knew she wielded a terrible weapon called the Emerald Heart. None of us know what it does, nor do we know where it is kept, but there are a thousand stories about its power from when the shamans were originally subjugated.”

Kara shrugged. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“Hardly anyone has. Of all the people in Stormwind, there are three who know that it even exists: myself, the Queen Regent, and the Fallen Princess. I have spent my time here trying to figure out its precise effect, but my search had been fruitless until just yesterday, when a report came in that a warrior girl had been crushed to death in a mine site collapse. They were discussing it in the taverns but her wounds were not consistent with the damage. It was obvious that she had been stabbed, and her neck broken afterwards.”

“What does that have to do with the Heart?”

“The House of Light is well-known for killing those it considers dangerous. It is part of the Oath they take. It has nothing to fear except for the exposure of the Heart, now that the Daughter of the House is also the Queen Regent over all of Stormwind and its sister cities. It is a thin hope, that this unfortunate girl stumbled on something greater than herself, but it is something to begin with.”

“What are you going to do?” Kara asked. “What can you do?”

“I do believe my time here in Stormwind is coming to an end. I will rejoin the Unbroken at their camp, and we may go to the place at Neolithic where they claimed the girl died. I have no doubt that something is there, and that the House of Light does not want it found.”

“Wait,” Kara said. “Can I come with you to the Unbroken? I can help!”

“Don’t be silly, Princess. Your aunt would nail my head to the gates of Stormwind if she figures out that you have left the city with me. That being said, you are the heir to the throne, and we can be valuable assets to each other. Keep my secret like you would keep one of your own. And know that though our struggle is far from over, it is us who will confirm you as queen.”

He waved his hand and a miniature lightning storm flickered across his palm, then disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“The war is upon us, Princess. You and I both know it. I am glad to see that you have chosen the right side.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	18. Strength in Numbers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their exile from the tribes, Elivagar leads his followers to the sanctuary of the Unbroken in the Thornhill forest.
> 
> BEGIN: "Strength In Numbers"  
> Plotline 2.3.0

Nighttime in Thornhill forest was always unnerving, but Elivagar had never been so glad to see it. It had been days of travel, always watching their backs for pursuit. He heard sighs of relief from the other shamans as they approached as well. The dark trees stuck up from the earth like hands. He could hear the rushing of the river nearby. A single human shape was backlit against a feeble watch fire at the forest path.

“Thank the gods,” Angel whispered. “We’re here. And we’re safe.”

“There’s a sentry on guard, I’ll speak to him,” Elivagar said. “Stay here until he allows us in.”

He took a few cautious steps towards the man, being careful not to make any threatening movements and keeping his weapon sheathed. The sentry’s voice rang out suddenly and Elivagar stopped.

“Don’t come any closer. Who are you?”

“Elivagar, leading thirty out of the tribe at Attherough. We ask for sanctuary with the Unbroken as supporters of your cause.”

“Remove your mask.”

He did as the voice asked, ready to draw his sword if he saw a flash of light. The shamans behind him whispered nervously among themselves.

The trees rustled as the thunderlord approached him. Elivagar stood perfectly still as he peered closely into the earthwarden’s face.

“Yes, Elivagar. We know you well. You and your followers are welcome. It will take us a little while to set up habitation for you, but we are well supplied. Come this way. Were you followed out of Attherough? We will not hold it against you if you were, but we must be on alert for an attack.”

Elivagar put his mask back on as they walked. “Not that I know of, although we did not leave peacefully. Several were executed after refusing to leave the valley. One of our number attacked Luc, but he did not die.”

“Earthwardens are particularly tough, I am not surprised. This will not make relations between our tribes any healthier though.” The thunderlord walked them through the forest and around the base of a huge waterfall with the ruins of a small wooden cabin. “There is room for your followers here. Come with me. The Council of the Unbroken will want to meet with you, or the few of us that are awake, anyway.”

Elivagar followed his guide up a set of natural stairs, worn into the dirt by many feet over the years. The Thornhill Sanctum had sat in ruins since Elivagar could remember, but it still retained a little of its old grandeur. Firelight shone on two full Council seats- a female earthwarden, and a male thunderlord. The others were empty.

“Thank you, Fury,” the woman said quietly. “Stay to hear him speak.”

The thunderlord took the Council seat at her left.

“I am Silver,” the earthwarden said. “I am the current leader of the Unbroken. This is Barcode, and you have already met Fury. I apologize that we could not all greet you, but the hour is very late. We know of you and your views already, Elivagar. Tell me what happened to you.”

“The House of Light has cut off the shard trade to all tribes, citing a lack of supply. This is unacceptable. We have always known that the House’s repeated attempts to weaken us were tempered by the Crown. Now that they are one and the same, there is nothing stopping the Regent from subjecting us to whatever she commands. I and my followers were banished by Luc after attempting to convince them that we could not live like this anymore. One of our number attacked him, and we fled before he could have us killed.” Elivagar took out the rolls of paper with Zinc’s notes on it and held it out to Silver. “I present this to the Council in hopes that you may make use of it.”

“What is this?” Silver asked. Fury took the scroll from him and handed it to her.

“We recieved information from our source within Stormwind, and… something else. I cannot speak of it, not even to you, but know that it is a valuable asset to us, and it is hidden in Arathi with caretakers at the moment. It carries knowledge about the location of the Emerald Heart.”

Silver frowned and leaned forward as she shook out the scroll and read over it.

“The Emerald Heart? Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“The source says it may be worn on a chain around the Queen Regent’s neck, but we still have no idea of its purpose.”

“We don’t even know if it can be destroyed!” Barcode scratched the blade of his pike across the ground. “We cannot risk this bold of a move without knowing more.”

“I know. And I have a solution, but it is unstable at best. Will you hear it?”

Silver looked at the others and shrugged. “We might as well.”

“The warriors of Stormwind are almost in blatant revolt. They have had no work for days, with the shard mines inactive, and the spy has recorded almost daily acts of vandalism and protest. The Regent is holding them back with pure intimidation, but if we can help them, their numbers will empower us significantly. If it comes down to a war, we need all the aid we can get from within. Stormwind is built to resist a siege from the outside.”

“This does not explain what can be done about the Heart,” Barcode insisted. “Nothing will stop the House from simply wiping us out again!”

“Hear me. The warriors may be able to gather information from within if there are too many for the House to track down. The College cannot be trusted, even if they too despise Serena’s hold on Stormwind. Either we can wait for Luc to exterminate us, or we can try and recruit the warriors to our cause. We have little choice at this point.”

“I agree,” Fury said. “The time is coming for us to put our plans into action, and with what you have brought, we may finally have a chance.”

“Get a message to your spy within the city. He needs to find a way to communicate with the dissenters and convince them that we fight for the same cause. It will not be easy. The relationship between shamans and warriors has always been bloody and unstable.”

“I know. He will not fail you, Silver. He has never failed me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	19. The Friend in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mage teams attempt to figure out a solution that will deter or eliminate the threat of void monsters in the mines. A junior pyromancer named Theo discovers an odd poetry book that seems to hold more than simply rhymes for children.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Friend in the Dark"  
> Plotline 2.1.4

The library at the College of Stormwind was a peaceful place. With its high vaulted ceiling, stained glass windows, and thick carpet, it was full of air and light and every sound was muffled among the hundreds of bookshelves. Theo had once thought she could stay there forever, reading everything she could get her hands on and enjoying the pleasant smell of paper and old leather. But after spending almost two days straight in the library with her team leader and two other full teams of mages, she was quickly finding out that her tolerance for “forever” was actually about 24 hours.

“Are they still bitching at each other?” Ninja whispered. “What are they even talking about at this point?”

Theo looked over at where the three team leaders were scribbling angrily on the library chalkboards and whispering thinly veiled insults. “I don’t know. At this point, I don’t want to know.”

Kirby picked up a heavy book and immediately let it fall again with a frustrated sigh. “What have we really gotten done here anyway?”

“Shhhh!” Sindre hissed at them. “This is the library! If you want to talk, go outside.”

“Sorry,” Theo whispered. The cranky librarian went around a corner, muttering to himself.

“Guys, did we already look over _Theories of the Mechanics of Shard Mining_?” Sonic called. He held up a dense book with dog-eared pages.

“I fell asleep on it, if that counts,” Theo said. She tucked her hair into her hood and tried to concentrate on the pages in front of her. “Look, all we have so far is that energy can be redirected using the appropriate medium. But we don’t have anything that says how to f***ing do it.”

“Well, energy can be in so many forms,” Ninja pointed out. “It’s in our spells, it’s in heat, sound, movement, and matter itself. We know the energy can’t be absorbed through normal means because of what Heatran’s experiment proved. Creaam said he tried to bounce the output off an arcane shield and it failed. That makes sense; void shards are conductors that channel intent and energy into a spell. The shield was absorbed along with the energy surge, and the shard’s natural characteristics amplified it into a blast. We can’t do this by magical means.”

“I know,” Theo snapped. “I took Physics too, you know.”

“I’m just saying-”

A small explosion rocked the entire library. All of the mages swiftly cast arcane shields and looked around. Their team leader, Tomol, was almost hidden by a cloud of noxious black smoke rising from the vial in front of him, and Theo could dimly hear Fahsil trying to cast a freezing breath over the reaction before it got worse.

“I told you to separate the acid from the solids overnight,” Fahsil was saying condescendingly. “It’s not something that can be done in two hours before, like everything else you do.”

“Don’t talk to me about separating things when you can’t even separate your f***ing eyebrows,” Tomol hissed. “I’m in this s*** because I listened to you and your bulls*** theory about energy containment. How many times do I have to tell you? It doesn’t work, for f***’s sake.”

“No spells in the library!” Sindre came charging around a corner, flapping the sleeves of his robes to clear the smoke. “By the gods, what are you doing? Take that devilry away from my books. These are fragile, you know!”

“Now you’ve f***ing done it,” Sheer said irritably. “I’m taking my team back to the basement. You can stay here and deal with him. Guys! Let’s move out of here and get back to the labs. We’ve been here all day; we’re not going to find much here.”

Sheer’s team got up and left with him. Fahsil and Tomol continued to argue silently as Sindre started opening windows and cranking open the skylight.

“Smells awful,” Kirby muttered. He put his robes up over his nose and opened another book. “They’re still trying the energy redirect from an explosion. This can’t be sustainable at all.”

“I know.” Theo threw down her pile of notes and started looking at a new pile of books. “Ha, look at these. I think this one is kids’ poetry. Wanna hear?”

“No,” said Ninja firmly.

“Okay.” Theo opened the book and started to read. “ _We danced, we danced until the dawn,/ And through the night, he sang a song_.”

“Gods, are you five? That’s terrible,” Ninja growled.

“ _It was not sweet, or good to hear,/ But he is mine; I will not fear_.” Theo frowned and turned the book over. “What is this even about?”

“Kids and their imaginary friends,” Kirby muttered dismissively. “Sheer was right. I don’t know what they think we’re going to find in here.”

“Ninja. Look.” Theo held out the book. “That’s no normal friend. Look at that thing. That was the stuff of my nightmares when I was this age.” The creature depicted was tall and dark, with crude claws at the ends of impossibly long arms. Two purple eyes were set daintily at the top of the misshapen head, and a silver chain was wound around its neck. A stick figure girl was clutching the end and grinning crookedly at the thing.

“Kids are weird,” Ninja muttered. “Looks like the void monster from Heatran’s lab.”

“ _A silver coin around his neck_  
Will keep his wildness in check,  
And when we’re done, he will depart;  
He fears the Light within my heart.”

Theo chewed the inside of her cheek when she finished reading. “This isn’t appropriate for kids at all.”

“Oh, even worse. A paladin child. Probably got eaten by that thing.” Kirby snorted and started putting his books away. “Let’s convince Tomol to get the hell out of here. All they’ve done is made a mess and pissed off Sindre.”

“Fine,” Theo muttered. “I don’t know. I’m going to ask Sindre if I can take this. Maybe my baby sister will like it.”

“Alright,” Sonic said. He finished shelving their books and adjusted the sleeves of his robe. “We should at least say that we got something done in all the time in here. The energy harness has been tried, and hasn’t really worked, but we could keep trying to refine it. The calculations say that it should work at some point. But we could still try to insulate the surge with a material; maybe something shock-proof. The other one that no one discussed was to make a cheap fuel for the smelter that’s both safer and faster for fusing dust into shards. The warriors won’t be hurt taking dust from old mines, but that’s if it’s even possible."

"Yeah, you're right," Kirby said slowly. "I guess we should pick something to focus on before we spend too much effort on this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> Analyze the poetry book?
> 
> **G2: Yes  
>  (Unlocks "Enemy, Walk With Me")  
> VOTES: 5**
> 
> ~~H2: No~~  
>  (Unlocks "When One Door Closes")  
> VOTES: 2 
> 
> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **I2: Move on with attempting to harness burst energy from an explosion to manufacture artificial shards.  
>  (Unlocks "Into That Good Night")  
> VOTES: 6**
> 
> ~~J2: Try to dampen the energy surge with something other than a spell.~~  
>  (Unlocks "If At First You Don't Succeed")  
> VOTES: 0 
> 
> ~~K2: Attempt to create cheap smelter fuel to lower the monetary cost of fusing magic dust into void shards.~~  
>  (Unlocks "We Were the Chosen")  
> VOTES: 1 


	20. The Queen of Hearts (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy translates the script from the Tomb and helps Sport and Echo flee Stormwind. They reach Arathi safely, and encounter a strange mage in the company of two shamans.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Queen of Hearts (Part One)  
> Plotline 2.1.5

_“Only the Child of the Light shall wield Light incarnate, and that Child shall walk a divine among men, or a wolf among sheep.”_

_“But what does that mean?” Sport had asked. “And where’s Tiff and Rainblaze?”_

_“It means you and your friends stumbled on one of the House’s most precious secrets. Do not try to find them. I know they are beyond hope. Now go, before the Queensguard come for all of us. Mention me to Identity when she asks why you came, but speak of this Tomb to no one.”_

Echo felt too numb to even speak. The two mages cut through the tall grasses, bushes, and trees that lined the path from Stormwind to Arathi. Lucy had warned them to stay off the trail and be ready to hide or fight at a moment’s notice.

_“The House will not care about subtlety, only that you are silenced. Do not let yourself get caught on the road. You will never be found. Do not try to contact your team leader or the head mage in Doriven. Arathi is the only place where I know you will be safe.”_

Echo thought about the sad look in her eyes as she put her hood back up and left the library. He thought about the terror on Sindre’s face when he saw her. No wonder he had been afraid. Speaking to the Fallen Princess was a death sentence. How had Fontn managed to keep her away from the House for so long?

Hoofbeats pounded the path behind them. Echo and Sport flinched, drawing their swords, but the rider just moved by. It was a mage from Stormwind, in blue robes. He took no notice of the other two hidden in the trees.

“We’re getting there,” Sport said wearily. “I can see the gates.”

Echo only nodded. He still didn’t trust himself to talk. The red towers of Arathi peeped over the treetops in the distance, and he could hear the rumble of horses’ hooves and the talking of the people at the gate. He thought about Tiff and Rainblaze. If he hadn’t shown them the tomb, maybe they would be alive…

He let Sport tug him along towards the gates, thinking about Rainblaze’s last words. He hoped the pyromancer hadn’t suffered. The mages put their hoods up as they approached, but it was hardly necessary. All they got was a cursory glance from the guards as they passed through, into the steep winding streets of Arathi.

The College was unnervingly close to the city’s branch of the House of Light. Echo instinctively shied away from the paladin acolytes standing in the arched doorway, but none of them took any notice of him. It made no sense to be afraid of them; they couldn’t possibly know that he and Sport were fleeing Stormwind to get away from the head of their order. Nevertheless, he breathed a sigh of relief when they hitched their horses at the College stables and finally went inside.

“Let me guess, more refugees from Doriven?” The Pyromancer at the front desk glared at them as they walked in. “Gods, we’re not going to have enough room for everyone. First the shamans are showing up, and now you lot.”

“Yes,” Sport said before Echo could correct him. “We, uh, got separated from our survey team and were looking for a place to stay for a while.”

“Incompetent refugees. Just my luck. Well, come this way, since Identity will probably skin me if she hears I turned more newcomers away.” He picked up his staff and waved them down a hallway. “Wait in the library. I’ll look up a team leader who can take another pyro and another aqua. It might take a while, but you'll have a place to stay tonight when we're done.”

“Thank you,” Sport called. The pyromancer didn’t respond as he walked away from his desk and went up the flight of stairs.

“Come on. We’re alive, and that’s what matters. I just don’t know what to do now.”

“Yeah,” Echo said. He rubbed his eyes and tried to set his thoughts straight. “The library is over here. Let’s just rest for a bit.”

They sat down at one of the long tables and numbly watched the librarian restacking books. Echo thought about Sindre and Lucy again. Surely they were safe. He refused to imagine that either of them were dead as well.

A blonde girl got up and returned a book to a shelf. Echo frowned and looked at her more closely. She was wearing a faded blue hood, with light leather armor that looked handmade. A fur robe sat on her chair. Why would a mage be dressed in shaman armor? The tribes never accepted outsiders.

“Hey… I’m Echo. What’s your name?”

The girl’s eyes darted back and forth before settling on Echo. “I’m- I’m no one. I should go.”

She grabbed her coat and the ruby thorn leaning against the table before fleeing the room.

“What was that about?” Sport asked. “Yeah, I saw what she was wearing too.”

Echo hurried to the window and watched her leave. She had pulled her hood up so that it almost covered her entire face, and two masked shamans were walking with her down the street. “There are shamans with her. A man and a woman. I think they’re earthwardens.”

“Weird.” Sport buried his head in his arms and stared blankly across the room. “Whatever. They’re probably running from something too.”

“Everyone is,” Echo murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	21. The Queen of Hearts (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fontn advises Lucy to flee Stormwind, as he cannot hold off the Queen Regent from the College any longer. He has bribed the leader of the Queensguard to take her to Arathi and protect her.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Queen of Hearts (Part Two)"  
> Plotline 2.1.6

It was a small accident, hardly anything compared to the progressively bigger explosions that had been echoing through the College corridors, but it had still done enough damage for Lucy to look for one of the aquamancers on duty. She had hoped that the news of her experiment wouldn’t reach Fontn. He took an irritating joy in babysitting her every move.

It had been so close to working, too. After sending Sport and Echo away, she had tried a dozen different things to keep them off her mind. _The Emerald Heart…_ It had been years since she had held it, much less thought about it. How strange, that after all this time in hiding, she was still able to remember the old words for two random mages who had stumbled on the place entirely by chance. Lucy would have called it fate, if she still believed in it.

She sighed and picked up the shattered remains of the metal orb she had made. The energy from the reaction had certainly passed into the metal, but instead of being deflected into the little heap of magic dust, the sphere had shattered. Pieces were embedded in the walls, smoking gently from the acid eating it away. Perhaps if she made it out of something more flexible…

The bloodstains on her desk were almost completely cleaned up when there was a loud, insistent pounding on her door.

“Don’t come in, I’m busy.” Lucy tried to arrange her papers over the broken vials and spilled chemicals, but a second later, the metal lock glowed bright orange and began to drip onto the tiles.

“Fontn, I swear to the Light, if you-”

The door crashed open. Molten iron splattered the floor. Fontn lowered his walking stick and glared at her. “I shouldn’t have had to do that.”

“Usually a lock means that I don’t want people to come in,” Lucy tried to explain, but he talked right over her.

“Rainbow told me what happened. What the hell are you doing in here?”

“Nothing. I dropped a beaker. Hurt myself picking it up. It’s fine.” She hid the towel she had been using behind her back. “Really. I just… couldn’t stop the bleeding so I went to someone else.”

“Bulls***.” Fontn picked up the papers and waved them at her. “You ran at least five pieces of metal completely through both of your hands. There were chemical burns on your face. I know damn well that you’re lying but I’m not going to ask you again. This is much too dangerous for someone like you to risk.”

“I didn’t ask to be treated like a child,” Lucy muttered. “I asked for sanctuary.”

“You are in my domain, you obey my rules. That being said, I know you’re bored, and life here does not suit you. I also cannot keep the Regent away from you indefinitely.”

“If you want me to leave, just say so.” Lucy pulled the papers out of his hands and put them back in the desk drawer where they belonged. She didn’t care if he saw the mess on her workstation. “I’m sure you’ll appreciate the view of my head being mounted on a spear at the doors of the House.”

“I did not say I was leaving you to die!” Fontn said sharply. “Listen. I have done my best to protect you for years. You know this. Do you trust me?”

Lucy finished wiping up the chemicals and blood, then threw the dirty towel into a bin near the door and grabbed a fresh beaker from the shelf. “Sometimes.”

“I have made an arrangement with the warrior who leads the Queensguard. As you know, your sister sends him almost weekly now to demand that I give you up. I pay him, as per our deal, and he leaves. But it is only a matter of time before Serena comes here herself to find you, and by law, I cannot defy the Crown.”

Lucy nearly dropped the beaker. “What?”

“I’ve paid him to take you to Arathi, if you want. You can live out your days peacefully there. He’ll submit a report to the Regent that he tracked you leaving Stormwind on the path to Doriven. They’ll never hear from either of you again. You’ll just disappear. The House will claim you killed him and then died in the wilderness.”

“Idiot! He’s Queensguard!” Lucy’s hands were shaking badly. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Of course I will disappear, after he kills me and brings my head on a plate to Serena!”

“You are being unreasonable. The warriors’ relationship with the Crown has been increasingly unstable, with the questionable new mining site and their lack of employment since the last one closed. He may be Queensguard, but I do not doubt his loyalty to his kin… and to my money.”

Lucy shook her head as she yanked the embedded shards of her orb out of the walls. “This is insane. You’ve handed me a death sentence!”

“I’ve handed you a second chance. Take it or leave it. Come to me with your decision when you’ve finished trying to figure out why I would protect you for this long and suddenly decide to murder you.” Fontn turned and left before Lucy could think of a response. Her ruined door drifted shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **L2: Flee Stormwind with the renegade leader of the Queensguard, Jaka.  
>  (Unlocks "Half of My Soul")  
> VOTES: 9**
> 
> ~~M2: Remain in hiding at the College.~~  
>  (Unlocks "Caged Bird")  
> VOTES:0 


	22. Into That Good Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After testing dozens of possible solutions, the combative mages finally achieve their results at a deadly cost.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Into That Good Night"  
> Plotline 2.1.7

“I’m freezing,” Ninja complained. They were waiting in the examination room, watching the team leaders and Fontn trying different solutions. “Is anyone else cold?”

“I am,” Theo muttered. She was trying to keep herself from dozing off on the poetry book she had taken from the library. “This is what happens when you put six pissed-off cryomancers in a small space.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Tomol was insisting. Sheer was taking jars of colored liquids and powders out of a small chest on the front desk. “You never even did a live test before now.”

“You weren’t a good idea,” Sheer retorted. “But you’re still here anyway.”

“By the gods, both of you just shut up already!” Fontn snapped. “Get me extra aquamancers. Trained ones. Not the ones from your teams. Sheer, I hate to agree with Tomol, but he’s got a point. Anything could happen.”

“I’ve measured everything out. There’s no way this can fail,” Sheer said firmly. “But fine, get the aquamancers anyway.”

“There is no greater sign of danger than a confident idiot,” Fontn growled. “Evacuate the surrounding rooms. Hopefully I can trust you not to f*** that up, at least.”

“You always do this!” Sheer complained. “My results are just as valid as everyone else-”

“When I want something destroyed beyond all hope of retrieval, make no mistake, you are the first person I will ask,” Fontn said shortly. “That isn’t the case today, unfortunately, so let’s take the normal precautions that usually accompany your demonstrations.”

Sheer looked like he was about to protest, but he stomped out the door down the hall to the other rooms.

“Well that’s a few things we won’t have to worry about,” Fontn huffed. “Once Creaam puts out the fire he managed to make on that workstation, we’ll be good to go. Honestly, how did you do that?”

“I’m starting to think he got promoted to head mage just because of his passive-aggression,” Theo whispered to Ninja.

“I still did better than you,” Creaam snapped at Fahsil. He threw a wet towel over the leaping flames and froze the whole mess solid in a burst of freezing breath. “You get points for results, not for sitting there running your mouth.”

“I’m not the one talking right now,” Fahsil sneered. “That’s all you ever do. Talk, talk, talk, and then you wonder why everything you touch turns to s***.”

“F*** off and leave me alone. You’re not the one with the idiot team. I’ve got an aquamancer who’s about as dependable as a broken water fountain, a cryo who struggles to make a tray of ice cubes, and two pyros who can’t toast a slice of bread with their combined fireballs. Don’t be such an asshole because you got lucky.”

“Was that some kind of weird compliment to Fahsil’s team?” Kirby wondered. “Wow.”

“As if.” Theo turned the pages of her poetry book. “None of you ever read this, did you?”

“Never heard of it,” Sonic said. “My parents told me normal stories. Like the one about the boy and the cave.”

“Yeah, we all heard that one. What’s this even about, though? It wasn’t written to be known or shared, and there’s no way a child actually wrote these poems.”

Sheer crashed back into the exam room, looking disgruntled and a little singed. “All clear, and I found your aquamancers.” Plikie, Ender, and Poe walked in behind him and waved to Fontn.

“Thank the gods. I’m not in the mood for cleaning up your usual fatalities today, Sheer.” Fontn held up the lab notes. “I’ve triple-checked your calculations, and it looks like the reaction will give off twice as much energy as it looks like this setup can handle. Are you sure this is accurate?”

“Yes, I’m sure!” Sheer yelled. “Just let me get this put together. The dome should compress and then redirect the energy back into the magic dust under the chemicals as they burn off. It’ll be fine. You got the extra aquamancers and everything.”

“Has he actually had fatalities?” Sonic asked Tomol.

“Only three, but that’s three more than any of us,” Tomol whispered back. “Fontn won’t let it go.”

“Classy,” Theo snorted. She closed her book and started backing away from Sheer’s setup. “I’m going to take cover.”

“Good plan. Cast shields when they light it up and pray that this building doesn’t start falling down.” Tomol walked over to the desk and said a few quiet words to the other team leaders. All of them scattered immediately.

“Plikie, I want you to light this up. Here’s some matches.” Fontn took several steps back and looked around. “Everyone, mind your heads. If debris starts falling from the ceiling-”

“Shut up, it’ll be fine,” Sheer insisted. “We’re ready.”

Plikie fumbled with the matches and managed to strike up a tiny flame and touch it to the long fuse poking out from under the jointed metal dome. She cast her shield and ducked as the flame raced up the rope and disappeared under the cover. There was a loud hiss as it ignited.

Nothing happened.

Theo peeked out from behind the workstation. Plikie’s shield fizzled out and she looked around the room in confusion.

“Didn’t you say this was calculated earlier?” Fontn asked pointedly.

“It was!” Sheer protested. “I don’t understand what happened!”

“Alright, let’s all go back to the drawing board. Ender and Poe, I want you to give that crap some water bolts. I don’t want to risk a delayed reaction. Plikie, don’t worry about it, this wasn’t your fault. Great to see you two again, by the way. I thought you were in Doriven with Pykxe.”

Ender cautiously picked up the dome cover and began soaking the colored vials of liquid and powder with water. The smoldering fuse hissed as it went out. Poe started disassembling the cover and handing the pieces back to Sheer.

“I really don’t get what went wrong there,” Sheer grumbled. “Now I look completely incompetent-”

One second Theo had been rejoining her team at the station, and the next, she was on the floor ten feet away. Blood filled her mouth where her jaw had hit something; a wooden cabinet maybe. There was a high, painful ringing in her ears as she tried to figure out what had happened. Someone was screaming nearby. There were footsteps close to her, but her vision was too blurry and full of stars to see what was going on.

“What the f*** was that?!” the loudest voice bellowed from across the room.

Fontn. He was alive, and angry by the sound of it. Theo blinked and tried to stand up, but her head pounded terribly and she lay back down. There was something wet running down her neck and soaking into her collar. The screaming went on in the background, a cry of pure agony that sent adrenaline shooting through her veins.

Water bolts poured over her in a burst of soothing coolness. Sonic was standing over her, looking bruised and bloodied himself, but his hands were steady as he tilted her head and tried to mend her bleeding ear. “Hold still. You’re going to be really dizzy for a while. Take it slow.”

“What happened?” Theo mumbled. Her tongue was covered in blood. She could feel a broken tooth somewhere.

“It exploded when it came in contact with the water. He’d never done a live test. Apparently water catalyzes that reaction, not fire.” Tomol scowled and started pulling bloodstained shards of glass out of his arm. “It hit just as our shields went down. If Sheer had been trying to kill us, that would have been his best chance.”

The stars receded from Theo’s vision and she let Sonic take a peek in her mouth. “Yep, you’ve got some broken teeth. Good thing you didn’t swallow or choke on any fragments. I think I can reattach them.”

Theo looked past him and almost inhaled a water bolt in horror. Plikie was still screaming and thrashing on the ground, trying to fight off Ender pulling her hands away from her face. The jellied remains of her eyes ran from between her fingers and dripped down her arms.

“He can’t save that,” Sonic murmured. “Body parts that have been destroyed that thoroughly… she’ll need a donor.”

“Idiot! What have you done!” Fontn shouted. He smacked away Heatran’s hand and staggered to his feet, leaning on his staff. “You nearly killed everyone in this room. You’ve maimed an aquamancer, for gods’ sake. I want everyone out of this room while I figure out whether or not to kill Sheer myself.”

Creaam opened his mouth to say something. Sheer raised his frostbite and shot a bolt straight into his face. The cryomancer doubled over, clutching his mouth and spitting blood mixed with ice shards onto the tile floor.

“Don’t say it. Don’t f***ing say it,” Sheer hissed. He stormed out of the room and down the hallway to the outside. His team huddled around the station, looking uncertain whether or not to follow him.

“Uh, Fontn…” A relatively clean and unharmed Zech was standing over the ruined work surface. “I think it worked.”

“Don’t be stupid, it… What?”

Theo looked up. All the team leaders hurried over to the front as Fontn reached into the burnt crater and held something up.

It was a void shard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	23. Blood is Thicker Than Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara takes a history lesson alone, and must say goodbye to an old friend.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Blood is Thicker Than Water"  
> Plotline 2.2.1

Panda was unusually absent from their shared classes with Fioren when Kara opened the door and went into the classroom. Kakapos hadn’t said anything about her when he’d walked her there, and she was secretly grateful that she was alone. No silent gloating, no bratty little sidelong glances. Kara resolved herself to stay awake through the whole lesson this time. The downside of being alone was that there was no one else around to take Fioren’s attention off of her.

“Is your sister ill today?” Fioren asked.

“I don’t know. I barely talk to her,” Kara muttered. “Look, I’ve brought my history reader and everything. I’m going to do my best.”

“It’s about time you started trying,” the cryomancer remarked. “Open your reader, we’re skipping ahead to chapter nineteen. We’re almost finished with the history of Stormwind, and after that we’ll move on to the Arathi chapters. Have you completed the reading from last lesson?”

“Yes,” Kara lied. “It was… the origins of the Honor-Bound. Right?”

Fioren looked shocked. “Oh, you actually did. Yes, the four Honor-Bound, colloquially called the Kingsguard or Queensguard, depending on whoever currently wears the Crown of Stormwind. Can you tell me more?”

“Um…” Kara thought hard, trying to remember the few pages of chapter summary that she had read. “They’re always warriors. The specialization doesn’t matter as long as they complete all seven End of Days tasks. And they only obey the Bloodline of the King.”

“On what condition can they break their vows?”

“If they are betrayed by the Crown first.”

“Very good. I’m surprised, Princess. You really are making an effort.” Fioren picked up her own book and turned to chapter nineteen. “Let’s continue on. This was your grandmother; I don’t think you ever knew her. Queen Rhune. She was the first to employ the Honor-Bound openly as bodyguards instead of assassins, though it was more as a gesture of payment for services rendered, than out of actual respect for them.”

Kara tried to think of the types of questions that Panda usually asked. “Um, what kinds of services?”

Fioren laughed bleakly. “It’s a rather relevant situation to where we are today. Rhune didn’t have the birthright to the Crown, but her older brother died in a very suspicious accident at the College, and the Regent at the time refused to pass the Crown to her because he suspected Rhune’s involvement in her death. She forced the Queensguard to execute the Regent, citing the fact that his broken vow to surrender the Crown to a rightful heir constituted a betrayal of all of them.”

“Did Rhune actually kill her brother?” Kara asked.

“I do not believe anyone ever found out the truth. She, and the rest of the Bloodline, refused to discuss it and she died without telling anyone else. However I would not be surprised at all if she did.”

“Oh.” Kara stared at the picture of Queen Rhune in her book, trying to find any hint of her father or Aunt Serena in the round kindly face. “I don’t look like her at all.”

“You and Panda remind me very much of your mother, but that is a discussion for another time.” Fioren turned a few pages in her book and Kara followed along. “Back on topic. Rhune’s public acceptance of the Honor-Bound was a radical move for the time, and most of Stormwind thought it would be a step forward in mending the relationship between the House of Light and the warrior population. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, and she also severely worsened the relationship between Stormwind and the shaman tribes with her acceptance of the warriors to the Crown. Eventually, disagreement turned to violence and she met an untimely end at their hands.”

Kara’s head had been drooping onto her chest, but at the mention of the shamans, she looked up. “They killed a ruler of Stormwind?”

“Yes. It was a great tragedy that still overshadows the Crown today. She and her Queensguard were ambushed by an extremist shaman faction when they went to pay their respects at the Temple ruins. The four were killed in the battle, and Rhune was executed in the temple. The House of Light had to retrieve her body later for burial.”

The room suddenly felt much colder. Why hadn’t Zinc mentioned this to her? Kara’s mind spun wildly.

“Thankfully, reason prevailed among the more conservative faction. Your father was old enough to be confirmed King by them at the time, and he dedicated his rule to securing the cities’ safety and supporting the conservatives’ rise to power, as well as their efforts in suppressing the rebels among them. The shamans were expelled from Stormwind and Doriven, and only permitted whatever territory the Crown granted them. Arathi, retaining some of its independence from the Crown, continued to allow shamans within its limits, but they also took a much harsher stance towards the extremists.” Fioren turned to the next section, not seeming to notice the look on Kara’s face.

“I’m afraid I must cut our time short today. There was a severe accident in the laboratory examination room a few days ago and I must help categorize the damage. I will need you to fill out the next pages in your reader on your own, and present them to me at your lesson tomorrow. Kakapos, if you wouldn’t mind escorting the Princess back to the Palace?” Fioren put down her book and held the door for him to come in. “And please inform your sister that there is no benefit in skipping classes. I expect full attendance from both of you, even if your full efforts are not present.”

Kara closed her reader as she and Kakapos began the walk back in silence. Her mind was too filled with questions to speak. Zinc was part of the Unbroken. He had to have known what happened. Fioren said the rebels had been suppressed during her father’s rule. That was when Zinc had said the Unbroken began. She knew there was too much he wasn’t telling her… Had she chosen badly?

“Go to your room, Princess. I need to speak with your sister about your lessons. She has been in a dark mood lately. I am afraid Her Majesty has been a little too harsh with her.” Kakapos pointed her down the hall and quickly went up the other flight of stairs, disappearing towards Panda’s room.

“Good,” Kara wanted to say, but she kept quiet and went into her room. She didn’t know how to feel about Panda. It gave her a mean little joy to watch her suffer, but she pitied Panda all the same. They were sisters. Kara didn’t know much about what that was supposed to mean, but she knew that family should love each other.

_And she doesn’t love me. She tried to kill me. All she wants is my crown._

Aunt Serena didn’t love either of them; Kara was sure of that. Her father had loved her, but he was dead. She couldn’t remember her mother, and Aunt Lucy wasn’t even part of their family anymore. Kara tried to push her feelings back down, but she had never felt so alone. Tears stung the corners of her eyes.

There was a quiet knock on her door. Kara quickly blotted her eyes with her sleeve and prayed it wasn’t her aunt. “Who is it?”

“It’s Zinc. I am about to leave, and wanted to say goodbye to you and your sister.”

“What?” Kara rushed to her door and pulled it open. Zinc stood in the hall, holding a large pack and his felflame blade. “Where are you going? I thought Stormwind was your home.”

“It was my home, Princess. But I am sure you have heard about the warrior riots. Your aunt is a very polarizing figure in this city, for better or worse. The shamans have always had a troubled relationship with them, and I cannot convince them that I am not an enemy. It isn’t safe for me here anymore, and it is long past time for me to rejoin my people.” He pulled something out of his bag and handed it to Kara. “Here. Ordinarily I would only give you this if you were fully-trained, but we may never see each other again. I hope it serves you as well as mine has for me.”

Kara turned the object over in her hands. It was a miniature capacitor totem, made to fit a child’s hand, and much heavier than it looked.

“There was so much that I could not tell you in the time that we had, Princess. Can you promise me something, before I go?”

Kara pretended to wipe her nose in order to hide her tears. “Yes.”

“Promise me that you will try to make amends with your sister. Try to heal the bad blood between the two of you before it becomes something much darker.”

“How?” Kara mumbled. “She’d never want to talk to me.”

“I think you would be surprised.” Zinc reached out and tucked a strand of Kara’s hair behind her ear. “It amazes me that two people who share blood could know so little about each other. But that is none of my business.”

“I wanted to come with you to the Unbroken,” Kara sniffled. “I want to help.”

Zinc looked furtively down either end of the hall. The Palace guards were close, but out of earshot.

“Princess, when you meet the Unbroken, it will be at the gates of Stormwind. Until then, stay safe. I wish you only the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> **N2: Try to make amends with Panda.  
>  (Unlocks "What We Share")  
> VOTES: 6**
> 
> ~~O2: Ignore Panda.~~  
>  (Unlocks "The Serpent and the Crown")  
> VOTES: 4 


	24. This Shattered Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luc's past comes back to haunt him as he orders the members of the Council to hunt down Elivagar at Thornhill.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "This Shattered Nature"  
> Plotline 2.3.1

It was dusk when the spies returned to the main camp. Luc sat with Syncro and Iris in the Council meeting-house, looking at their crude maps of the Thornhill Sanctum.

“The Council of the Unbroken sits at the top of the Sanctum. Their tents are set around the base of the hill. Non-council members live around the abandoned quarry and the surrounding forest areas. There are many natural obstacles, and I have no doubt they have fortified the brush with sharp stakes and other deadly traps. It will not be easy.” Syncro traced his finger across charcoal marks that showed three possible paths.

_They had waited at the top of the Gorge, watching the six riders making their way across the dry, cracked earth. Their armor glittered in the stark sunlight. The lead warrior carried the blue banner of Stormwind, marked with the red stripes that symbolized Doriven and Arathi. The Queen and the Prince Consort rode together, flanked by two other warriors, and a fourth brought up the rear._

“One leads straight to the Sanctum. Not desirable. It will be heavily guarded and too populated. The second is a side path that leads to the jungle and the spires. These areas do not seem to have anyone living there, but it is a very long distance to travel if we are only trying to avoid the Sanctum. The third is the most efficient, taking us to the base of the waterfall and the old fisherhouse. There is a very crude camp there, clearly not set for permanent residence. I believe that is where they are.” Syncro folded up the map and put it away.

“What should we do?” Iris asked. “It is a small camp, but they are still spread out too much for a small attack to be effective.”

_Lightning bolts arced down onto the riders. The horses screamed in terror and stomped wildly as the Queensguard looked around, drawing their swords. A powerful war cry echoed across the wasteland._

_We’re under attack. Get to the Temple! We can hold them off there…_

“Our first priority should be to find the ones who fled,” Luc said grimly. “And kill only the ones who fight back. The Unbroken themselves will cast out the survivors for endangering them. Above all, bring me Elivagar, dead or alive. I will have his head placed on a stake outside of our camp, and his body broken and scattered to the vultures.”

_Lava hissed and bubbled under the blackened Temple floors. The six fled across the wide stone bridge that crackled and groaned under the horses’ pounding hooves. The shamans followed them across, careful not to make a single misstep. It was easy to slip off the path into the burning sea below._

“Do not harm the others.” Luc stared into the fire in front of him. “They have left us alone thus far, and I will not incite open war myself. But let the ones who fled know that I will not have my authority challenged. They were not alive to understand the cause of the retribution we suffered under the last true King.”

_The Queensguard dismounted and drew their swords. Queen Rhune stood with them, and Light shone around her like a halo._

_Fall in. They will not defeat us today._

“Make sure that you are as subtle as you can possibly be. I only want Elivagar killed. If he convinces the Unbroken to march on us, a war will be guaranteed. We cannot lose what little trust the House still has in us. He must be silenced.”

Syncro frowned and rubbed a speck of dirt off the points of his drakefang. “I do not see why we should wait to wipe out their entire force. Their existence puts all of us in danger.”

“No. The Crown puts us in danger. But I had no choice in offering Serena the Regency, and she cannot know that I have lost control of the tribes.” Luc’s bones ached with a deep chill that even the fire’s warmth could not drive out of him. “It has been a long time. I have seen more than I should, and done more than I should have survived. Some of the Unbroken were once old friends of mine.”

_It was a short, ugly battle. They fought well, but they were badly outnumbered. There was blood everywhere. It was puddled on the ground near Lift’s severed arm, still gripping his halberd. It streamed from Larz’s mouth as he coughed for air, trying to pull himself free from the earthen spike that had impaled his stomach. Spor’s head and torso lay two feet apart from each other in another spreading pool of blood._

_No, Lethal! Rhune screamed and stretched out her hand. The last Queensguard warrior’s cry was choked off by a sudden gruesome hiss as she tumbled into the glowing lava depths below. A shaman kicked her drakefang out of her grip._

“And if we are caught by their guards?” Iris asked. “I am afraid they will be expecting us.”

_Remove your mask, coward! Let me see the face of a traitor before I go to my ancestors, and give me your name._

_The queen’s eyes blazed with fury and pride. Even helpless, without a weapon or her guards, she showed no fear._

Luc shook his head. “It has been days since they fled. Their guard will not be as high. But if you are caught… be honest. Torture and lies is not the way of the Unbroken.”

_The razor-sharp edge of the shaman’s Gemini pressed into the queen’s throat. Blood welled up from the cut in crimson beads._

_Very well, Your Majesty. When the dead ask, tell them-_

“Tell them-”

_“Luc sent you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	25. Half of My Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three days after fleeing to Arathi, Lucy finally confronts Jaka about her own past, their relationship, and their future.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Half of My Soul"  
> Plotline 2.5.7

It had been three days since Lucy had left Stormwind and slipped into Arathi unseen, and she thought she was going to go insane from boredom if she spent one more day alone in the small house that Fontn had provided. Jaka wouldn’t let her leave; it was too dangerous with how many House acolytes were roaming around the city. He wouldn’t let her stand near the windows to keep her away from prying eyes, and he wouldn’t even let her stand on the balcony upstairs. It was almost worse than being in the College. At least Fontn had let her out of her room long enough for her to know what was happening in Stormwind, especially with her sister. She fiddled with her necklace for the thousandth time and wondered if she would ever be free of someone watching her.

“What is that locket? You haven’t left it alone since we left Stormwind.” Jaka walked in with an armful of his spare weapons and sat down to clean them.

Lucy looked down. She hadn’t even noticed that she was twisting the gold chain of her locket around her fingers so tightly that the skin had gone white.

“Just a keepsake from a while ago. I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“What’s inside?”

_It was my Heart._ “It’s a picture of us, when we were young. None of your business.”

“My apologies.” Jaka looked away quickly, as if he were embarrassed. “You seem to be very possessive of it.”

_It was my Duty._ “It’s all I have left of her.”

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

_Liar! Whore! In the name of the Light, I cast you out! You will be hunted like a beast for the rest of your days… Serena’s beautiful face looking into Lucy’s plain one, twisted with hate and pale with rage. When we meet again, you will die._

“We had a disagreement. I thought it was nothing important. She did. The others turned against me… and that was that. It’s not something I want to relive.”

“I understand.” Jaka laughed and tossed the clean sword carelessly into the pile of his other possessions. “And here I thought you were starting to trust me.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Lucy muttered. “I think I’ve forgotten how to trust.”

“Have you forgotten how to love, as well?”

_Love?_ “No.” She turned her back to him, acutely aware of his gaze. “But I am not some bird in a cage that needs to be kept away from the outside world for its safety.”

“I swore a vow. Not only to Fontn, but to others as well. I have to keep you alive.” Jaka scrubbed at a speck of rust on another blade. “He is very difficult to say no to.”

“Then I should have told Fontn that I don’t need another babysitter,” Lucy snapped. “I am sick and tired of being treated like an infant.”

“Would you rather be treated like a corpse? That is what you would have been if not for him.”

“Believe me, I tried!” Lucy threw down her own weapon and yanked back the sleeves of her robes. She held out her arm for him to see. “No one would risk the wrath of the House to shelter me. I had nothing left. I was nothing. Look.”

The scars were still there, running up her forearms like silver wires even after all the years. Lucy felt an angry little burst of vindictive satisfaction when she saw Jaka pull away and look up at her in horror.

“What-”

“I thought it was my only choice. I refused to be brought to her for execution like some common criminal. I planned it, you know. It was my last little victory, to die on my own terms instead of hers. Even at the end, she’d have no hold on me.”

“How did you-”

“The Light healed me. Every time. The cuts closed whenever I opened another one. I was furious. I couldn’t even die of my own free will. But it made me think that somehow, fate had another purpose for me. That there was a reason I had to remain alive. That was what sent me to the College for sanctuary.”

Lucy pushed her sleeves back up and rubbed her stinging eyes. The despair and hope of that day were almost too much to relive. “It abandoned me a long time ago. I couldn’t even heal myself after the lab accident. Did Fontn tell you what happened? I tried to help with the mages’ most recent project and ended up almost losing my hands. Fate isn’t enough to save me anymore.”

“But you trusted him enough for this,” Jaka said quietly. “You did not let yourself be taken back to the House.”

“I only left the College for Fontn’s sake. I knew he couldn’t resist Serena’s questioning any more. You were Queensguard before you left; I know that the first order she ever gave you was to kill me if you could.”

“It was.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Lucy almost shouted at him. She grabbed his sword hand before he could react and brought it to her throat. “I have no reason to live. Not anymore.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Tension hung in the air, then shattered like glass as quickly as it had come. Jaka’s startled expression softened and he lowered his sword and pulled his hand from her grip. Lucy let him go and collapsed on their bed, burying her face in her hands. She wondered, in a detached sort of way, what would have happened if he had done what she asked.

She felt his hands pulling hers away from her face, and looked up at him. There was pain in his eyes, but also something else.

_Fear?_

“Princess… I have loved you from the moment I saw you. If you asked me for death, I would grant it to you to put you out of your pain. But I am Queensguard. I cannot break my oaths. Not even for you.”

Lucy looked up at him in confusion. “Serena ordered me killed…”

“Her Majesty countermanded the order before we left. The warriors are almost in open revolt, and she could not spare more of the House forces to capture you. You were to be left alive, and brought to her for questioning in your involvement with the disappearance of two Doriven mages who were possibly possessing sensitive information. Only if you are found guilty of sharing these secrets will you be executed. Otherwise you will be released back to Arathi, to spend the rest of your life in exile.”

_What…?_

She tried to turn and block the strike, but she was too slow. Pain exploded in the back of her head. Darkness fell like a curtain over her vision as she collapsed.

“I’m sorry, Princess. But if you have any desire left in you to live… do it for me.”

**\----+----**

When she opened her eyes, her sister was standing over her. Serena’s cruel, lovely eyes bored into hers and Lucy tried to turn away, but she couldn’t move. She was bound to a wooden chair in a strange dark room, lit by a single torch.

“Well, well,” Serena whispered. “What do we have here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE FIVE ITEMS: VOTES ARE OPEN UNTIL THE END OF ARC 2.
> 
> **What should Lucy discuss with Serena to avoid being executed?  
>  Be careful! Serena will look for any reason at all to kill her.**
> 
> P2: Talk about the death of the King.  
> VOTES: 4
> 
> Q2:Talk about her relationship with Jaka.  
> VOTES: 1
> 
> R2: Talk about what changed in her and Serena’s relationship from when they were children.  
> VOTES: 5
> 
> S2: Confess to giving Sport and Echo the translated characters on the broken Tomb.  
> VOTES: 2
> 
> T2: Angrily accuse Serena of being a hypocrite, and reference Lucy's own time as the Daughter of the House.  
> VOTES: 4
> 
> U2: Bitterly ask Serena how it feels to have everything in her life handed to her.  
> VOTES: 5
> 
> V2: Laugh at Serena for her failure to maintain order in Stormwind.  
> VOTES: 4
> 
> W2: Imply that Serena is not mentally fit for a position of authority in any sense.  
> VOTES: 4


	26. What We Share

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara decides to take Zinc's last piece of advice to try and make amends with Panda.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "What We Share"  
> Plotline 2.2.2

Moonlight shone through Kara’s window as she sat at her desk, turning Zinc’s last gift over in her hands. The silver caps on the totem glittered brightly. She wondered if he would return soon.

She knew she should go to sleep. It was a little past midnight, but she wasn’t tired at all.

“Promise me that you will try to make amends with your sister. Try to heal the bad blood between the two of you before it becomes something much darker.”

Every fiber of her being rebelled against the thought of talking to Panda again. Her sister wanted nothing to do with her. She hadn’t gone to class with Kara for days, and Kakapos had told her that she was taking them separately. Even though Kara was confident that she had done nothing wrong, she still felt as if something was weighing her down. There had been something fragile and beautiful between them, and somehow Kara had crushed it with her own clumsy hands.

Kara put the totem down and pushed her feet into her slippers, then picked up her training sword and opened her bedroom door. “Pollau? Are you there?”

“Princess! Why are you awake?” The Queensguard glared down at her as she peeked out. “It is so late. Go back to bed.”

“No. I have to talk to my sister.”

“Your sister is asleep, as you should be. Go back to your room-”

“No, you’re coming with me to talk to her, right now. I need backup.” Kara marched down the hallway, knowing he’d have to follow her.

“Princess, this can wait until tomorrow morning! Her Majesty will have me skinned for letting you wander around,” Pollau snapped.

“Well she won’t know if you stop making so much noise. Even if she does wake up, I’ll tell her it was my idea.” Kara rounded the corner to Panda’s hallway and looked up at the torches. They were still burning strongly. She had plenty of time. “Stay outside. We’ll probably yell at each other, but don’t come in unless you hear stuff breaking.”

Avaiidan was dozing off outside of Panda’s room. He reached for his sword when he saw them approaching, but immediately relaxed. “Princess, what’s this about? Your sister is sleeping-”

“She was sleeping. Stay outside. There will be yelling. We’ll probably punch each other a few times, but unless she’s got another weapon hidden in there, I’ll be fine. I fight better than her… when it’s fair, anyway.” They didn’t know about what had happened on the training match, and Kara decided not to tell them. It was the reason why she had decided to go late at night. An unsuspecting Panda wouldn’t be dangerous. “And if Aunt Serena asks, this never happened. Understand?”

The Queensguard looked at each other in wordless frustration, but they both nodded.

“Good. Now get out of my way.” Kara grabbed the doorknob and opened it carefully. Panda’s room was dark, but she could see her sister’s outline breathing under the bedcovers. She took a firmer grip on the training sword as she crept across the floor, then reached out and carefully shook Panda’s shoulder.

“It’s me. Wake up, I need to talk to you.”

Panda sat up so quickly, Kara thought she might not have been sleeping at all. She blinked at Kara in confusion before seeing the sword in her hand.

“I knew it,” Panda hissed. “You’re here to kill me.”

“I said I need to talk,” Kara began. She didn’t get out much more of her sentence before Panda yanked something dark from underneath her pillow and lunged for her throat. Kara blocked the blow, grabbed her wrist, and twisted it until Panda finally dropped the sword. “Listen to me! If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already!” She kicked the weapon out of reach and tossed her own away as well.

“Do it then,” Panda whispered. Her lip was trembling and Kara realized she was trying not to cry. “It makes us even, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not here to get even. I have one question. That’s all. Answer it and I’ll leave.” Kara tightened her grip on Panda’s arms when she tried to wrench free. She had always been physically stronger than her sister.

“Fine. Ask and then get the hell out.” The tension in Panda’s arms went out and she glared furiously at Kara.

“Tell me why you hate me.”

Panda looked at her in incredulous fury. “You really don’t know why?”

“Just tell me what changed,” Kara pleaded. “That’s all I want to know. I have to know.”

Her sister went pale, then flushed with rage. The bandage on her cheek stood out where Serena had slapped her in the garden.

“I have nothing because of you!” Panda screamed. “The birthright is yours! Aunt Serena stands behind your coronation next year. Everyone knows that. I never asked to be the youngest, and now I am nothing. I will never be anything but your shadow. Is it so wrong of me to want more than that, even if it means sacrificing you? Don’t pretend you wouldn’t feel the same in my place.”

She pulled away from Kara and rolled over. Kara let her go. She couldn’t argue. There was nothing she could say to Panda that she didn’t already know. How many nights had she lain here in her bitterness and envy, plotting the death of the sister she never wanted?

“You were my best friend,” Kara finally managed to say. “I might have hated you during our lessons… but it was never like this. Tell me what changed.”

Panda didn’t respond. Her face was buried in her pillow, but Kara could hear the slightest hint of sobbing. Her heart ached. She wanted to reach out and hug Panda, but somehow she knew it was the wrong thing to do. She wanted time, and Kara would give her time.

“Please,” Kara whispered. “Talk to me.”

“Go away,” Panda finally mumbled into her sheets.

“No.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I’ll wait until you do.”

There was no answer. Kara sat down on the edge of the bed and watched her shoulders shake with the weight of her crying.

“ _Blood only matters when it is spilled, little one,_ ” Kakapos had said on the training field.

She would prove him wrong. She had to.

It felt like hours passed, in the dim moonlight with only the sound of her own breathing in the room. The moon slowly sank out of sight and a few gold rays of sunlight began to appear. Kara’s spine began to ache from sitting so long, but she was determined to endure. It was a small discomfort to bear.

She felt something shift and looked up. Panda was rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Her face was still tear-stained and her shoulders were slumped. Kara had never seen her look so defeated.

“Just leave,” Panda muttered. “There’s nothing you can do. I already know you won’t give up the birthright for me. You’ll just throw me out of the palace when I start threatening you and I’ll have to hide like Aunt Lucy until I die.”

Kara blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Aunt Serena said it would happen eventually,” Panda sniffled. “It was a while ago. But… I didn’t want to wait for that to happen so-”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Kara murmured. “Panda… that never even crossed my mind. You’re my sister, and that means something to me. I won’t give up the birthright to you, but I never wanted you to leave. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t think we could fix this.”

“I guess,” Panda said weakly.

“Listen to me,” Kara said. “Fioren told me about what happened to the last Regent. The heir had to have him executed because he wouldn’t give her the Crown. We’re the ones with the real power, Panda. Aunt Serena is afraid of us because she knows she’ll have to give it up eventually. She turned you against me on purpose.”

“Why though?” Panda asked. “You saw how she treats me. She just wants to make sure I don’t challenge you for the throne. I’m practically worthless.” She wiped away fresh tears and stared out of the window.

“Because if we’re busy fighting each other, it’s proof for the shamans to not confirm one of us for the throne.” The puzzle pieces were falling together. Kara tried to keep the anger out of her voice, but it was difficult. “She’s using all of us to keep her power.”

Panda looked back at her and twisted the sleeve of her pajamas. “I still don’t get why you wanted to talk to me about this.”

Kara took a deep breath and tried to think of another angle to explain it to her. “Did you see Zinc before he left?”

“Yeah. He gave me this.” Panda reached for the drawer of her bedside table and took something out. It was a miniature healing totem, built on the same scale as Kara’s. “And… and he asked me to talk to you too.”

“What else did he say?”

“He told me he knew about what happened during the training duel,” Panda whimpered. She gripped her totem and lowered her head, but Kara could see new tears running down her cheeks. “He said something big was going to happen, really soon, and to stay away from Aunt Serena and everyone else from the House of Light.” She sniffled loudly and wiped her face. “And he said something about how he couldn’t watch us end up in the same situation as her.”

“He said that to me too,” Kara said quietly. She reached hesitantly for Panda’s hands and squeezed them. “We have one enemy here. And I need your help.”

Her sister looked her fully in the eye for the first time, and Kara saw something there that wasn’t smug satisfaction, or hate, or sadness.

“What do you need?” Panda finally asked.

“Zinc said he couldn’t convince the warriors that he wasn’t what they needed to fear,” Kara said. “He said I would meet the Unbroken shamans at the gates of Stormwind. They’re coming to take Serena off the throne, and we need to help them. I need you to talk to the warriors. Find a way to convince them to help when it happens. Don’t go to Q__T or anyone like that, but talk to whoever ran the mines outside of Stormwind.” She let go of Panda’s hands and stood up. “Take the Queensguard with you, if you want, but make sure Aunt Serena doesn’t hear a word of it. You’re the Princess, remember? You’ve got a better claim to the Crown than she ever did.”

Panda’s lips trembled, then formed into the faintest of smiles.

“I’ll do my best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	27. The Bindings of the Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After further analysis of her poetry book, Theo fills out a requisition form asking for certain materials to attempt a recipe she finds. Unfortunately, the artifact she needs is out for restoration and she must select a substitute.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Bindings of the Void"  
> Plotline 2.1.8

The lab was unusually focused as the teams tried to prepare ingredients for smaller-scale testing. It had been a quiet day, which Theo was grateful for, but Sheer and Heatran were already packing up finished ingredients and arguing across the room.

“All I’m saying is that mine worked and yours didn’t,” Sheer pointed out. “That’s all. Just a fact.”

“I also didn’t blow up a room full of people and blind an aquamancer. Just another fact.” Heatran set an alembic over a low flame and adjusted it until the contents were boiling strongly. “And since you seem to be so interested in facts, all of my past teammates are still alive, unlike yours.”

“That was years ago!” Sheer protested.

“It still makes me wonder why he kept you on,” Heatran said loudly.

“Well clearly he thinks at least one of us needs to get s*** done around here, and it isn’t you,” said Sheer. He unwrapped a clean wooden stirring stick and started mixing a few drops of light blue liquid into a packet of black powder.

“Bulls***, I do everything around here. Just because you can make some smoke and loud noises once a week doesn’t mean you actually contribute. It makes you look like a goddamn idiot.”

Sheer rolled his eyes and threw the stirring stick at him. “I don’t care if you’re gonna be a smartass, but can I get a little more ‘smart’ and a little less ‘ass’?”

“Nope, deal with it.” Heatran poured the alembic results into a new vial, corked it, and set it aside. “You almost got me killed twice in the last three weeks. You don’t get to complain about me.”

“It was for a good cause,” Sheer insisted.

“There is no good cause that’s going to kill me before it kills you. Go back to your f***ing station and try to make something that works for once.” Heatran picked up the fallen stirring stick and threw it back. “If you don’t mind, I’m taking my team out of here before they end up blind, or worse.”

“Hold that L,” Creaam hooted from across the room.

Sheer pointed his frostbite at him just as the door opened and Fontn walked in.

“By the gods, this is a college, not an elementary schoolyard!” The grouchy pyromancer slammed the door closed and glared around at the teams. “I want everyone’s weapons stowed out of sight, and the next open mouth I see will be catching a fireball. Understood?”

Everyone nodded silently.

“Good. Tomol, I want to see your teammate Theo about her material requisition list for this upcoming season. There are some… unconventional items that need to be approved. I’ve also arranged for the abandoned mining site outside of Stormwind to be used for perfecting the smaller-scale explosion. There’s no way we’re ever trying that indoors again. Keep in mind, you are all still under orders not to speak to anyone about what we’re doing out there. If they ask, refer them to me. Good luck, everyone, and let’s avoid more… incidents.” Fontn directed the last half of the sentence at Sheer. “Theo. Library, please, at your earliest convenience.” He shot one last look around the room and left.

“Well, I think this has been productive for all of us so far.” Tomol’s smile was forced to the point where it looked visibly painful. “We’ve fixed a severe problem with the mining system, hopefully introduced a little more quality of life for the workers, and we’ve all confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sheer is a murderous psychopath.”

“Agreed,” Theo muttered. Her jaw was still sore, even though it had been a few days. Sonic had done a good job of replacing her broken teeth and repairing her ear, but she hadn’t been able to see one of the more professional aqua medics. They were too busy trying to fix Plikie’s empty eye sockets.

“Let’s get some good documentation of the lab prep. Now that we’re certain we can synthesize shards, we need to try and dial back the amount of escaped energy. Start prepping the ingredients, and we’ll run tests outdoors tomorrow. Fontn asked me to warn all aquamancers not to allow any water near the reactants, so Sonic, I need you to sit this one out. It’s for your own good.” Tomol twisted the dial on the gas burner and set a beaker of purple liquid on the surface. “Theo, stir until it evaporates and then you can go see Fontn about the requisitions. I’ll take care of the really difficult ingredients, but I need Kirby and Ninja’s full attention for it.”

Kirby raised his head from the book he had been using as a pillow and blinked sleepily. “My what?”

“Your… you know what, never mind.”

**\----+----**

Fontn was already at the library by the time Theo arrived. He was holding the tiny brass summons bell from Sindre's desk and ringing it, but the librarian was oddly absent.

“Ah, there you are." Fontn put down the bell and unfolded Theo's requisition form. "So here's what I've got for you so far. The nitric and hydrochloric acid are standard issue. One large natural void shard, a testing-size gold ingot, and a liter of chlorine solution. As for the other items... I’ve made a deal with Sindre for the, um, full human skeleton that you requested.” Fontn squinted at the form again. “You will be responsible for returning it in the condition that you received it, and should any parts of it be damaged beyond repair, you will cover the cost of replacing them. And before you ask, no, that does NOT mean that you should go out and kill someone for the part. I have had that happen and it was very difficult to explain to the family of the deceased.”

Theo nodded and tried not to cringe.

“The second request… I cannot guarantee. Sindre is very protective of the artifacts in his care, particularly the one you asked for.” Fontn rang the bell louder, but Sindre was still nowhere to be seen. “Anything with historical significance like that is generally not permitted for loaning. Are you sure there are no substitutions for the item?”

“I’m sure. It has to be silver, and it has to be from the House of Light. But… I guess I could use anything. A ceremonial coin, or a pendant, maybe. Even a chalice or something would work.”

“Hmm. Well, if Sindre ever bothers to show up, I think that will open up some more options.” Fontn irritably smacked the bell against the desk surface. “For the love of the gods, I am not paying him to sit around and-”

“Who is making so much noise out here?!” Sindre bellowed. He threw his office door open, but stopped short when he saw Fontn. “You. Of course.”

“I told you to be expecting me here, and to bring one of the anatomy skeletons and the engraved silver medal. So far, you’ve failed on all three counts. Would you like me to deduct that from your pay now, or shall I hold off, in case you’re not done being a disappointment yet?” Fontn threw the bell aside and glared at Sindre. “I have been here for almost ten minutes.”

“And I know damn well you haven’t got that much time left in you anyway, you old windbag,” Sindre growled. “You pay me next to nothing as it is.”

“It will be nothing very soon if you continue to talk without fetching me those items right now.” Fontn waved the requisition paper at him. “I said now!”

Sindre looked like he dearly wanted to argue, but he stomped away, muttering to himself. Theo bit her lip, not daring to say anything to either of them.

“I must ask, I was very curious about why you needed all of these things,” Fontn remarked. “Of course you don’t have to tell me, but if it might pose a safety threat to you or anyone at the College-”

“It’s safe,” Theo lied. “I just found an old booklet at the library earlier about… um, plating bone with gold. My sister is an acolyte at the House and I thought I could make her a little necklace out of her baby teeth with a pendant engraved with the inscription from the medal. It’s the kind of weird little thing she’d like, but I need to practice on something bigger than a tooth first.” In truth, Theo had no idea if the bizarre recipe poem she had found in her book would even do anything, or if she had interpreted it correctly, but she’d decided to try anyway. Fontn didn’t need to know.

“Oh, you could have just told me it was personal.” Fontn shrugged and looked around for Sindre again. “Well that answers all of my questions. Alright, here he comes. Looks like he’s got a couple of different things for you to look at.”

“Unfortunately, the exact medal you asked for is being re-etched and restored,” Sindre huffed as he came back with several boxes. “I cannot lend it out until the process is finished, which might take a month or more. In the meantime, here are some artifacts of similar composition with different markings.”

The first box held a gold medallion on a matching chain. Theo carefully opened the glass cover and set it aside. The natural light from the open skylight caught the details of the casting beautifully.

“This is a rather valuable piece. Solid gold, possibly upwards of three hundred years old. The engravings are in the common speech, and in excellent condition.”

Sindre picked up the second box and opened it himself. “Here is the one I would prefer that you took, a lead medallion with the standard Blessing written on it. It’s not perfectly preserved, but it is useable.”

“Hmm.” Theo picked up the third box. A silver ring lay on the white cushion inside. “Um, is this plain or marked?”

“It was marked, at some point. I think the engravings are still visible… oh dear. Maybe not.” Sindre shrugged and covered the box again. “I’m not even sure if this was from the House or not. Documentation said it was found at the same site… Well, it was an alternative.”

The last box contained a silver cup. A long heavy chain was looped through the handle. Theo turned it over in her hands, examining the intricate script around the base and rim. “What’s this from?”

“It's a fairly modern satoire necklace; I believe it was donated from the House several years ago. The Ministers wear them as a temperance symbol. Anyway, here are your choices. I will have whichever one you choose brought to you in a day or so.” Sindre put all of the lids back on the boxes and stacked them up. “Here is your… skeleton as well. Do take good care of it.”

“I will,” Theo promised. “Is it okay if I don’t pick one of the artifacts right now?”

“Of course. Just come back by the end of today and tell me which one you want. I’ve heard that the teams are very busy as of late.” Sindre shot an irritable glare at Fontn, who was dozing off on one of the desks nearby. “Evidently no one has told him that this is not a place to sleep.”

Theo didn’t know what to say to that, so she just shrugged noncommittally and unwrapped the folded cloth package containing the skeleton. All of the pieces were there, and the smallest bones were in a tiny wooden box. “Thank you. I’ll be back when today’s lab session is over.”

“That is fine. Just do me a favor and don’t bring him along,” Sindre muttered.

**\----+----**

When she returned to the lab, the prepwork was already finished and the team leaders were trying to run a demonstration lecture. There were already several shattered frostbolts melting on one of the walls, and Theo took the farthest seat she could find.

“We’ve done some good work so far but obviously there’s some room for improvement- Creaam, just stop making noise. Just stop.” Sheer threw his sheaf of papers down on the desk and took a deep breath. “Oh my gods. Anyway, the issue here is that the resulting shards aren’t really as good quality as the original ones that were mined. But I think we can try to trigger a second round of explosions that generate the right heat and pressure to improve them if needed.”

Fahsil opened a glass case in front of him and took out some of the cloudy void shards. “As you can see, these are basically unusable. It’s going to take some time, but for now we need to concentrate on fusing these two inferior results into one seamless whole.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard for you,” Tomol said innocently. “It’s basically what you do to your eyebrows, right?”

Fahsil reached for his void edge. Theo looked at the two cryomancers and decided, for the second time that week, to run for cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PICK ONE:
> 
> **Which item should Theo take from Sindre, to use when she attempts to put together the recipe from her poetry book?**
> 
> ~~Z2: The gold engraved medallion from the House of Light.  
>  VOTES: 2~~
> 
> ~~aa2: The lead engraved prayer pendant from the House of Light.  
>  VOTES: 1~~
> 
> ~~bb2: The worn silver ring of questionable origins.  
>  VOTES: 2~~
> 
> **cc2: The silver satoire necklace with the engraved cup from the House of Light.  
>  VOTES: 5 **


	28. The Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syncro, Iris, NightWolf, and Cadences launch their sneak attack on the Unbroken at Thornhill.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Test"  
> Plotline 2.3.2

The nights at Thornhill were gloomy and cold, especially moving into the fall season. Angel tried not to yawn, but it was difficult. They had been camped out for days now, and nothing had happened. There were already sentries in the forest and at the Sanctum, and he wondered why they needed another guard. He was already sleep-deprived enough, and he doubted a few hours without a watch wouldn’t hurt. Angel glanced around one last time, saw nothing, and decided to turn in for the night.

Something caught the corner of his vision and he snapped awake. Shapes in the darkness, just beyond the camp. They were moving quickly, but stealthily. Angel squinted hard, but they were gone as quickly as they’d appeared.

Was he seeing things? He picked up his void edge and began walking over to where he thought he had seen them. It wouldn’t hurt to check.

A figure suddenly loomed up in front of him. Angel opened his mouth to scream, but a pair of hands clamped around his throat. Lightning slashed back and forth in a blinding glare of blue-white. The last thing he saw was Iris’ ruby thorn plunging towards his chest.

**\----+----**

Syncro knocked her spear away just before it impaled the unconscious thunderlord. “No! Save it for Elivagar.” He looked left and right, hoping they hadn’t made too much noise already. There were only four of them, on Luc’s orders. “We don’t have time. Move!”

Cadences pointed to the campfire at the center. “He should be there. If he is not, they’ve camped him at the Sanctum and it’s too risky to try that. Split up and search the tents as fast as you can. Stay out of sight.” She and Iris ran towards the nearest one and sliced the flap open, then disappeared into the darkness.

Syncro headed towards the fire. He had a feeling that Elivagar wouldn’t have been allowed at the Sanctum yet, but he had to know that he was being hunted. He would be in the safest possible place, with a guaranteed escape route and plenty of light. “Come on. He’ll be past the fire near the path out of Thornhill.” Nightwolf followed as he hurried through the campsite.

The stony ground crackled under their feet. Syncro glanced around again, and cut open the tent flap. A thin sliver of firelight revealed two sleeping thunderlords. He closed it again and kept moving.

“Syncro. Over here.” Nightwolf pointed at a tent. “It might be him. I can’t tell.”

He looked up and hurried over. Both occupants were earthwardens, but they were still wearing their masks. “Damn it. I can’t see-”

A scream suddenly rang out from across the camp. Lightning arced down from the sky and exploded in a shower of sparks. Cadences shouted something and a boulder shattered somewhere far off.

“We’re out of time. The Sanctum will be waking up soon. Just kill them,” Nightwolf whispered.

Syncro dropped the tent flap and crouched down. He heard the earthwardens jump up and grab their weapons. As the entrance flew open, Syncro tossed down his totem and cast a chain lightning at them. It pulsed with power and both of them staggered, but only one fell. The second earthwarden managed to summon a boulder and threw it straight into Syncro’s face, knocking him away from the totem and into the fire.

“It’s him!” Nightwolf shouted. “Syncro-” His words cut off as an earthen spike tossed him into the air. The first earthwarden lunged at him and they disappeared into the tent shadows.

Syncro managed to roll out of the flames and get back to his feet. Lightning bolts hissed past his head and he ducked down. The other thunderlord was outside of the circle of firelight, but he could see a faint outline. He spit out blood and tried to aim at them just as the earthwarden tackled him.

“You again.” Elivagar’s voice was muffled under his mask, but it was unmistakably him. Syncro broke his hold and slashed at him, forcing him back. If he could somehow push Elivagar towards the forest entrance without being followed, they would have a chance to kill him and escape. He dodged around another boulder and tried to look for Cadences and Iris, but they were nowhere to be seen. They didn’t have time.

Someone screamed, very close, and Syncro’s heart jumped into his throat. Iris stumbled into the firelight, bruised and bloody, with her left arm bent at an impossible angle. Lightning scars marked her entire face. One of her eyes was dead white and glazed over. Elivagar grabbed her broken arm and twisted it viciously, holding her in front of him as a shield. Iris shrieked again, and went limp in his grip.

“Make your choice,” Elivagar said coldly. “Chase me and all of your friends will die.”

He tossed the unconscious thunderlord into the fire and raced into the darkness beyond the camp, heading for the outskirts of Thornhill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:
> 
> ~~X2: Abandon Iris, Nightwolf, and Cadences to chase and attempt to kill Elivagar.~~  
>  (Unlocks "Old Friends, Old Enemies")  
> VOTES: 4 
> 
> **Y2: Save Iris, Nightwolf, and Cadences, allowing Elivagar to escape.  
>  (Unlocks "Forever Unbroken")  
> VOTES: 6**


	29. Forever Unbroken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After rescuing Iris and reuniting with Cadences and NightWolf, Syncro and the others are brought before the chieftain of the Unbroken, who offers the group a deal.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "Forever Unbroken"  
> Plotline 2.3.3

_Chase me and all of your friends will die._

Syncro cursed under his breath as he watched the earthwarden disappear into the trees. He couldn’t do it. He knew the danger that Elivagar posed to them, but he couldn’t just leave Iris, Cadences and NightWolf behind. At least he was fleeing, but Syncro thought it was too much to hope that he wouldn’t come back.

There was a hiss and a puff of foul smoke. Iris’ hair was burning. Syncro ran back and managed to drag her out of the flames to safety. Her arm was badly broken and blood was soaking her armor where the bone had sliced through her skin. The electricity scars covering her face were almost hidden under angry red and black burns. She was still unconscious, and Syncro looked around for the earthwardens. There were two silhouettes in the darkness that he assumed were them, but they were too far away to reach in time.

Firelight blazed up at the top of the Sanctum and dozens of confused voices called to each other across the forest. His heart sank. It would be a miracle if they could escape being killed, let alone get out of the forest and get back to Attherough. Iris groaned weakly and the eyelid of her blinded eye fluttered, but he knew she wouldn’t be able to run. Movement flickered past him, and he raised his weapon, but a boulder grazed his side and there was a nauseating crunch. Pain shot through his ribs. He knew at least two were broken but he forced it out of his mind and tried to pick up Iris.

Green light flashed briefly over the scene. Cadences managed to break away from the brawl and cast a quick chain heal. NightWolf’s lightning almost blinded him for a second after the dim light of the fire, but Syncro tried to aim a volley of bolts into the tangle of fighters. Earthen spikes tossed him aside and he landed hard on his broken ribs. The sharp pain became a brutal stabbing that drove the air out of his lungs.

A woman’s voice rang out over the chaos.

“Do not let them escape! Bring them to the Sanctum, alive. I know why they are here, and I have a message for their leader.”

Rough hands yanked Syncro’s weapon out of his hand and bound his wrists with rope. NightWolf and Cadences were similarly tied, and Iris was being dragged along the stony path by her arms. A crowd of masked figures were gathered by the base, watching and talking quietly among themselves as they were forced up the hill to the top. Syncro looked around, trying to spot familiar faces, but he couldn’t see any. He took a brief satisfaction in the fact that Elivagar was noticeably absent.

There were nine seats arranged at the top of the Sanctum in a half circle. Four were occupied by masked shamans, and the center seat, higher than the others, held an unmasked earthwarden with cropped dark hair. A double-bladed axe lay across her lap, shimmering with green light.

“Is this all of them?” she asked. “Only four?”

“Yes, Silver.” The thunderlord holding Syncro shoved him to the ground and tossed his weapon down next to him. “They only attacked one individual, but we have not found him. I believe he fled Thornhill entirely.”

“Hmm, it was Elivagar, wasn’t it?” The earthwarden smirked and twirled her axe in her hands. “I knew he would be trouble. He thought he was not followed out of Attherough, but I know Luc very well. He is sneaky.”

Syncro kept quiet, weighing the odds. They were outnumbered and unarmed. Silver had ordered them to be kept alive for whatever reason, which gave him some hope, but he knew that the worst hadn’t happened yet. _If you are caught, be honest,_ Luc had said. _Torture and lies is not the way of the Unbroken._

“They struck one sentry unconscious without killing him. He has not woken yet, despite our best efforts.”

“Hopefully that will teach him to be more attentive next time. Have a seat, Barcode.” Silver smiled coldly and rubbed a speck of dirt off of the blade of her axe. “Luc has kept all of you ignorant of his past with us, hasn’t he? I suppose you are too young to remember.”

“What?” Iris croaked.

“Perhaps this is his way of atoning for what he did,” Silver said thoughtfully. “He was one of our Council seats, originally, before the Unbroken were forced out of the cities by the Crown. Hmm. Don’t act so defiant. You would never have come here for him if you had known.”

Syncro’s mind raced. No wonder Luc had ordered them to go at night, out of sight of the Sanctum. The Unbroken were not only his old friends. What had changed?

“And now he sends you here to kill us.” Silver looked at the other Unbroken and laughter rippled through the crowd. “His Council, ordered to work as his pet assassins. What a familiar sight. I did the same for him once, but we were after much more than a few dissenters… ” She tossed another log onto the fire and orange sparks swirled up into the darkness. “How much did Luc offer you in exchange for Elivagar?”

 _Be honest._ “Nothing,” Syncro said truthfully. “He and the others attacked us before they left. I considered this as just our way of returning the favor.”

“Interesting.” Silver looked at each of them in turn, but finally shrugged and leaned back in her seat. “Well, you already know that I am not going to kill you all outright, even though I think we all agree that you would deserve it.”

Syncro tried not to sigh with relief. “Thank you.”

“Do not thank me yet. I know that you disagree with our ways. But the time has come for the shamans to unite against the Crown once more, and we will either fight together or die together.”

A chill ran through him at Silver’s words. She looked right into his eyes, perfectly serious and calm. “What are you saying?”

“They’re going to march on Stormwind,” Cadences gasped. “You’re insane! They’ll destroy you!”

“Not this time, because we have a chance that we have never had before!” Silver gripped the arms of her chair and leaned forward. “Stormwind is in chaos. Its factions have never been so divided. The warriors are barely held in control by the Crown, and the mages will not remain neutral for much longer. The House of Light sent half of its acolytes to Arathi barely three days ago. Their presence in the city is weaker than it has ever been.”

“Are you trying to wipe all of us out?” Iris’ voice was shaky and broken, but she was still conscious. “We all know what happened the last time we tempted the wrath of the House of Light.”

“We have suffered enough,” Silver whispered. “They have forgotten what we are capable of. We are poised to strike one last blow at the heart of the Regent’s power, and then the city will be open to us. Luc was always too afraid to act, but I know he wants to see the palace burn just as much as we do.”

“Impossible,” NightWolf murmured.

“I think it is time for you to realize the difference between impossible and unthinkable.” Silver stared into the flames before her, and Syncro realized with a tiny jolt of horror that he had seen the exact same expression on Luc’s face many times. “Our plan is already in motion.”

“Then what do you want from us?” Cadences demanded.

“Here is my request of you. It is only one thing. Katana and I will accompany the wounded thunderlord girl, only her, back to Attherough to speak with Luc ourselves, then, regardless of his answer, she will convince Luc to allow us to leave alive and unharmed. There will be no more sneaking or secrets. If you do it, I will spare you and your friends to meet us again outside of Stormwind. If not… well... you are either with us or against us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	30. The Outcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elivagar flees the assassins in Thornhill and encounters some old friends on the trail towards Attherough Valley.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Outcome"  
> Plotline 2.3.4

It was much too dark to see anything well, but Elivagar knew the path. He had been anticipating the journey for a long time. His horse was in the stables, already saddled, and it was an easy task to ride out of the woods and down the overgrown road towards Attherough. He could pass around the valley unseen and move towards Arathi. Luc had been expecting the extremists to take shelter in Thornhill, not the city. He would be safe there until he could figure out his next move. Elivagar moved as quickly as he dared, without making too much noise, and he didn’t think he had been followed. Syncro would not leave Iris to certain death, even if killing Elivagar was his goal.

The thunderlord had attacked him, and only him. Syncro had made an earnest attempt to kill him, passing up all of the other refugees from Attherough. Why? Elivagar knew that Luc blamed him for the rise of the extremists, but they had fled the valley as he had ordered. What threat had the chieftain seen in him that would force him into sending the Council to kill him? It made very little sense, which disturbed him greatly. Perhaps he was too afraid of the power of the Unbroken united with the other refugees.

Branches suddenly rustled on the path ahead. Elivagar pulled his horse to a halt and drew his felflame blade. All he could see in its dim greenish light was a human silhouette holding a basket. They wore a shaman mask, but he couldn’t see if they had a weapon or not. It couldn’t be Syncro; there was no way any of the attackers had managed to outrun him without being seen.

“Who’s there?” he called. “I am armed. Show yourself.”

“Elivagar? Is that you?” The voice was female and his heart leaped.

“Lily?”

“Oh gods! I thought you were in Thornhill with the others!” Lily shoved her way through the dense bushes and ran up to him, pulling off her mask. “Why did you leave? You’re hurt! What’s going on? Is everyone alright?”

“I don’t know. I can tell you everything later. Are Mag and your friend still with you?”

“Yes, come on. We’re camped over here. You’ve got to tell us everything. The past few days have been a nightmare. But I’m so glad you’re safe.” Lily beckoned him through the trees and into a hidden clearing with a tent. “You can tie your horse with ours over here. How long have you been on the road? Thornhill isn’t far from here.”

“A few hours, I’m not sure.” Elivagar tried to look up at the moon to gauge the time, but it was hidden in the treetops. “I had to get out of Thornhill. Luc sent some of the Council after me, but only me. They passed everyone else to get to my tent. Syncro hit me with a totem and I took a few bolts getting out, but they didn’t kill me.”

“Well you’re safe here, or as safe as we can all get these days,” Lily said sadly. She opened the tent and nudged him inside. “Mag, Zinc, wake up. We’ve got company.”

The two shamans snapped awake and scrambled for their weapons. Elivagar quickly pulled off his mask, letting them see his face. “It’s just me. What happened? I thought you were in the city.”

“Elivagar?” Mag got to his feet and quickly embraced the other earthwarden. “Gods, you’re burned. Sit down, I think I can fix this.”

“What a time to meet like this again,” Zinc mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and put his sword away. “It’s been a long time.”

“It has. I gave your notes to Silver and the others when we got to Thornhill. Why are you on the road like this?”

“Stormwind is too volatile right now. I tried to do a bit of diplomacy with the warriors, but they were… resistant to the idea, to say the least. It got violent. Next day, I get summoned to the House of Light and questioned about my involvement in the riots. They’re closing ranks. The Crown has gone utterly paranoid.” Zinc shook his head disapprovingly and put some more sticks on the fire.

“Mag, what happened with you and Lily?” Elivagar asked. The earthwarden let out an unintelligible grunt as he prodded the lightning burns and his totem shimmered in the firelight. Lily shook her head.

“We had to abandon Arathi,” she murmured. “The House was sending reinforcements from Stormwind; more acolytes were out every day. We heard rumors of them stopping and questioning random mages on the street. It was too much of a risk to stay. Zinc met us on the road and we’re going to accompany him to a place at the Neolithic chasm. He needs to investigate something he heard about before he left the city, and we’re hoping it’ll be a safer place for her.” She reached out and squeezed the sleeping mage’s shoulder gently. “She had the presence of mind to remember most of what she heard, but we think there might be a little more.”

Elivagar touched the burn cautiously, but it was no longer sore. He breathed a sigh of relief as Mag undid his chestplate and went to work on the scars from Syncro’s capacitor totem. Warm green light blazed up and flickered out.

“He did a pretty good job on you,” Mag said bleakly. “The muscles are still spasming. Let’s try to relax a little more. Deep breaths. This might sting a little.”

Elivagar did as he asked, but agonizing pain suddenly ripped through his back and he almost screamed. More green light flashed back and forth, and Lily placed down her own healing totem as well.

“Hang on,” he said, trying to get his thoughts in order. “What do you mean, they were questioning random mages? Are you sure they were after you?”

“No, but it wasn’t a chance we were willing to take. Honestly, it was pure luck that we found Zinc passing through Arathi on the way to the chasm.” Lily put away her totem and her weapon. “I’m glad Syncro didn’t chase you very far. I’m sure Luc must have put out a hit specifically on you.”

“I’m sure he did,” Elivagar said irritably. “I need to get back to the camp somehow.”

“How many attacked you?” Zinc asked.

“I couldn’t tell. It was way too dark. All I saw was lightning and people rushing around near the fire. I don’t know if anyone is dead. I hope it wasn’t just a warning before a bigger attack,” Elivagar said warily. “I should have killed Syncro when I had the chance.”

Zinc twisted his hands nervously. “No. This runs deeper than a schism between the tribes. Did you read my notes at all?”

“Of course I did. But I have no faith in the warriors of Stormwind. All they care about is their own safety.”

“Yes, but that is something we can use.” Zinc peered over at the sleeping mage and nodded thoughtfully. “Serena has threatened them with public executions, should the unrest continue. I am sure this will only fan the flames. I did my best to arrange some talks with other allies before I left the city, but I can only hope that they will be fruitful.”

“In the meantime, Neolithic is safe for us,” Mag said. “Come along with us. If Luc did order you specifically to be killed, returning to the camp will put the others in danger.”

“They will think I’m dead if I don’t go back,” Elivagar pointed out.

“All the more reason to stay away, if your death is what Luc wanted. I have faith in the Council of the Unbroken. They know an earthwarden is not dead until the body is found.” Zinc laughed darkly and picked up his sword again. “I know that tactful diplomacy is not your strength, but your persuasion might be a useful to all of us later.”

Elivagar thought for a moment, but finally relented. They had a point, and it would be safer traveling with a group instead of alone.

“Very well. I’ll come with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	31. The Analysis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axoy and Pran consider the hopelessness of their situation. Soup and Raidibotti make a sacrifice for a friend.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Analysis"  
> Plotline 2.4.1

The horses were being packed for the three-day journey to the mining site at Neolithic. Axoy looked up at the pale sunlight. Summer was fading quickly into autumn, and there was a nip of coolness in the air that had nothing to do with the approaching dusk. The glittering towers of Stormwind behind them looked like they were already covered in frost. Axoy did not mind the cold; no true warrior did. But they would be in the desert for months if the mining site stayed consistent, and he wasn’t looking forward to the constant cycles of heat and cold. He wondered if the mages had come up with anything yet. Q__T hadn’t yelled at him about it, so he figured they either didn’t know, or they didn’t care. Either way was fine by him.

Hoofbeats thundered up the trail. A messenger in a blue hood raced past him. The rider dismounted and spoke a few quiet words to Soup, pressing a small packet into his hand. Soup dropped the items he had been packing, nodded, and then rushed over to Axoy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s from Ender. I need to get to the College. There’s been an accident at the lab. Plikie’s hurt bad.”

“What? What happened?”

“I don’t know. But please… Raidi and I need to see her, just once before we go. Is it too much to ask that you wait a little before leaving? He said it would only take a few minutes.” Soup looked pale and more scared than Axoy had ever seen him. “Please.”

Axoy hesitated, but finally shrugged. “Yes, go. I know you were close.”

“Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Soup hurried away to where Raidibotti was helping the mage guards roll up the tent fabrics and load them up. Axoy watched him go. Soup had been very withdrawn since the trip to Crossfire weeks ago. He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like it was due to more reasons than just the site rejection.

Pran and Natalie were wrapping barrels of smelter fuel in damp cloths to prevent stray sparks from igniting the contents. One of the mages was helping to check off a packing list while holding the lead horse steady. It was only a small trip that would establish a base camp and do a more detailed survey, but the trip wasn’t one that Axoy wanted to make ever again. Q__T would arrive later to approve it for production after seeing their setup, and then it would be another year of bloody, brutal work until… until what? Until he died in a collapse like Tiff, or one of those damned monsters cut his head off, or the House of Light fell in on itself and got rid of Q__T and Serena in one fell swoop. Axoy laughed darkly to himself. At least the first two were likely.

Pran finished tying off the knots and offered Axoy a canteen. It was just water, but the dust from the dead site stung his throat and he drank it gratefully. “Thanks. Are we ready to move out when they get back?”

“Yeah.” Pran tucked the canteen away and sat down on a crate. “But there was one thing I wanted to talk about from Tiff’s death report and the report for the mage Rainblaze. Why is the site approved if it’s already known to be unstable?”

“The House sent acolytes to check it out and recover the bodies. They said the collapsed area was the only unstable region and that the debris could be cleared. Besides, Q__T doesn’t care about what happens to us as long as she gets what she wants.” Axoy scratched his sword on the ground bitterly. “I’ve thought about it enough already.”

Pran twisted a sheet of paper in his hands. “They’re sending us into a death trap. Have you been to Neolithic any other time besides on surveys? It’s pure desert in all directions. If you die there, you’re never found. The sand just swallows you up.”

“This life is a death trap, it’s just a matter of time before it closes,” Axoy said impatiently. “Look at it this way. If we had shown up there at the site before the eroded part of the ravine collapsed, we’d all be dead by now. Maybe Tiff’s death saved us some time and trouble. But if you’re nervous about the assignment, go talk to Q__T. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear more complaints from us.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Pran snapped at him.

“What did you have in mind then? More vandalism? Riots? Unrest? Protests? We’re flies in the Regent’s face and she’ll swat us just as easily. I’d rather get my ass as far from Stormwind as possible before getting hauled off by the Queensguard and executed. Neolithic is three days out. At this point, it’s the only freedom we have until the mages do whatever the hell they’re trying to do.” Axoy tossed down his pack and stood up. “I hope Tiff’s accident was at least productive. Maybe it opened up more shard veins.”

“Anything that kills more of us is productive to them,” Pran muttered.

“Exactly. You heard the announcement. The Ministers of the House are going to be ordering searches on suspected collaborators in the riots. They’ll have you and your friends killed publicly for treason, and you won’t be able to do a damn thing if you’re dead. Don’t even think about being a martyr. There’s enough of those already.” Axoy hurried over to where one of the mages was struggling with the smelter parts and helped him hoist it up onto the wagon. “Dying for this isn’t worth it when so many others die every day. It’s about staying alive despite everything they throw at us.”

Pran shrugged and looked up at the sky. “I just want this to end… I want to find a way to make them pay.”

“We all do. But this isn’t the answer. When we’re at the chasm, we’ll be far enough away from the House that they can’t spy on us. We still have a chance as long as we keep a low profile.” Axoy hated what he was suggesting, but he knew it was the only way. They needed time and safety, and Neolithic would be their best opportunity for both.

“Fine.” Pran stood up and shaded his eyes from the sunlight. “Look. I think Raidibotti and Soup are coming back.”

“Already?” Axoy looked over at them and frowned. “What’s wrong with his face?”

“Soup, are you okay?” Pran called.

The warriors came closer. One eye from each of them was covered with a cloth bandage.

“It was her eyes, Axoy. One of the demos went wrong and destroyed them. Ender cleaned her up and got the nerves fixed, but they couldn’t find donors... so we volunteered.” Soup looked at the ground and took a shaky breath. “It was the least we could do for her.”

Axoy’s first instinct was horror, but he pushed it back. It wasn’t for him to judge.

“That was brave,” Pran said gently. “You loved her, didn’t you?”

“I did. I still do. And if I die out there… at least some part of me will still be with her.” Soup threw the reins of his horse over a post and carefully touched the patch over his missing eye. “It’s weird. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“It’s going to take both of you a while to adjust,” Axoy finally said. “Do you want to stay behind and wait for the second trip?”

“No. I’m fine. Let’s just get out of here.” Soup walked away and picked up the items he had been packing. “The sooner, the better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **NO COMMUNITY DECISION**


	32. The Replication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo, Dtron, Morken, and Wheat work together to summon the "friend" from her poetry book, and discover a gamechanging revelation.
> 
> UNLOCKED: "The Replication"  
> Plotline 2.1.9

Theo didn’t know how long she had been awake. All she knew was that she was so incredibly close to finishing the recipe. The skeleton was laid out on the smooth stone tiles, and her other ingredients sat in separate beakers on the counter nearby.

“This is such a bad idea,” Wheat whimpered from the doorway. “Do you even know what’s going to happen?”

“Of course I know,” Theo said robotically. She poured some of the pig’s blood from its container, measuring out a fourth of a liter. “We’re going to call up a friend.”

Dtron and Morken exchanged terrified looks and backed away. Theo tried not to laugh at the sight. She had convinced the three pyros from Zech’s team to help out with the preparation, and they had done a fine job, but she hadn’t told them about the outcome.

_A cup of blood that must be fresh_

Theo had sent Wheat to make an early morning trip to the butcher. She had been met with some confused stares, but she had eventually gotten what she wanted.

_Some royal water, starved for flesh._

The nitric and hydrochloric acids sat separately. She hadn’t mixed them yet, knowing that the aqua regia combination wasn’t stable, but she had already mixed some to dissolve her gold bar. Dtron had mixed it with the chlorine and used a few fireballs to evaporate it into a dry yellow powder that sparkled dully in the torchlight.

_The remnants of a man destroyed,  
A shattered mirror of the Void._

The void shard was of exceptional quality, sparkling clear violet with smooth edges and mirror-like surfaces. Theo unwrapped it from its tiny cloth and placed it under the skeleton’s ribcage, where the heart would have been.

_Then bind it all in false-faced gold,  
A form to shield him from our cold._

Morken picked up the container of gold powder and began sprinkling it over the bones, lightly brushing it with his gloved hand to spread it evenly. The substance smelled strange and sharp. When the skeleton was covered, Theo took out the engraved silver cup on the chain and placed it around the bony neck.

_When he is here, give him a name;  
The monster in the darkness, tame._

“We’re ready,” Theo said. “Morken, give me a 1 to 3 aqua regia solution. Hand me the blood beaker and the hammer from the desk. No matter what happens, stay back. If anything goes wrong, get out, seal the blast doors, and tell Fontn there’s been an emergency in the rear wing. We can’t let this thing get loose.”

Morken simply grunted as he poured the acids into a fresh cup and handed her the bright orange result. Wheat’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head, but she nodded. Dtron gripped his staff and looked at the door.

“Let’s do it.” Theo took a deep breath, knowing it very well might be her last. She reached under the ribs and smashed the shard with the hammer as hard as she could, then threw the acid and the blood over the whole thing and stumbled back.

Dark smoke hissed up from the broken shard, billowing out under the ribs. The gold powder glowed white-hot and began to melt. It ran over the skeleton, coating each piece with a fine metallic sheen. The acid and pig’s blood met, curdled, and separated again. The mixture was pulling away from the floor tiles, rising up into the bones. The smoke grew darker and thicker. It spread out along each limb until the bones were hidden underneath. It brushed the silver cup on the chain and recoiled from the metal. Two points of purple light flared to life in the skull’s eye sockets.

Theo could barely breathe. The air in the room had become suffocatingly hot. It stank of blood, chlorine, and burning metal. Her head spun. Every bit of color on the walls stood out in too much clarity. She felt as if she had been turned upside down and quickly righted. Wheat’s screams of terror seemed to echo from a great distance.

Black and purple sparks exploded across the thing’s smoky flesh. Theo raised her hand to shield her eyes, but didn’t dare look away completely. Something moved underneath the fog. The skeleton’s hand, covered in the living smoke, clenched into a fist and relaxed. The toes twitched and the neck turned slightly. Theo’s breath caught in her throat. She wondered detachedly what Fontn would say if he saw what was happening.

_“What is this…”_

The voice cut right though her daze, sending chills up her spine. It came from the abomination on the floor, still moving ever so slightly. The jaw opened and shut, out of sync with the words.

_“Come closer. Do not fear.”_

“No!” Wheat cried. “Don’t listen to it!”

Theo felt as if her blood had turned to lead in her veins. Every movement felt heavy and unnatural. The creature’s violet eyes shone through the darkness, like a light for her to follow…

Hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back. The spell broke. She looked up at Dtron in shock, realizing how close she had come to touching the thing imprisoned in the skeleton. There was no doubt in her mind that it had tried to kill her.

“Nice try,” Theo whispered. “Almost had me for a minute. What the hell are you?”

There was a clatter of bones against tile as the monster laid its hands on the floor and pushed itself into an upright sitting position. Wheat began to sob from the corner of the room.

“Answer me!” Theo shouted.

It lunged at her, too quickly to be seen. Incorporeal purple claws plunged towards Theo’s face. Dtron raised his staff and tried to block it, but there was no need. Blinding yellow light sparked violently where the monster barely touched her skin, and it retreated with a terrible roar of agony. Smoke boiled up from its burned limb.

_A silver coin around his neck will keep his wildness in check…_

Apparently it didn’t have to be a coin. Theo touched her face. Her hands were shaking badly. The creature was clawing furiously at its chest, trying to dig out the silver chain, but to no avail.

“That’s right. I know how to control you.” Theo grabbed the poetry book from the counter and held it up. “I know you’re from the void, and I know you’ve been here before. You’re not leaving until you answer some questions.”

 _“Silly little mage.”_ A crude face formed over the skull and smiled grotesquely. _“Perhaps I will not kill you after all. You remind me so much of her.”_

Its voice was awful, not rough or threatening, but smooth and utterly emotionless. Theo fought off her urge to run out of the room and turned to the picture page, of the girl holding the beast on its chain. “She was the first one who summoned you. Who was she?”

 _“Ah, the questions. Always the questions.”_ The monster gripped the counter and pulled itself to its feet. _“The girl was a warrior. Not a particularly gifted one, but stubborn. Brave and a little stupid, like you.”_

Theo ignored the insult. “Did you kill her too?”

 _“Of course not. The Light and the silver… it forces me to exist in your reality without the power I would have from the Void. I could not hurt her, though many times I wished I could.”_ Laughter gurgled up from the spasming jaw. _“I helped her, as she asked. The End of Days tasks are brutal. She would not have completed them without me. Of course, I could not save her from her own idiocy and she died as swiftly as she lived.”_

Theo frowned in confusion but Morken looked up. “You were summoned by one of the Honor-Bound?”

 _“That is what I just said.”_ The purple eyes flickered several times, as if the creature was blinking. _“I gave her help that she did not deserve and a place in life that she did not earn. Though if she did learn one thing from our time together… I hope she now realizes that the Nether is a dangerous place.”_

“I don’t understand.” Theo tried to sort out what it had said and gave up. The heat in the room was making her sleepy. “We’re being attacked by other monsters from the Void, who were summoned just like you; from broken shards. But you’re different from them. You can talk and think.”

The monster’s head snapped up and looked her right in the eyes. The twin lights grew blindingly bright and it let out a roar of fury. Theo and Dtron backed away as it slammed its fists down on the counter, leaving dents in the surface.

 _“After all this time, they continue the slaughter!”_ it snarled. _“You fool. We have fought the devastation of our kind for years and still it makes no difference to humans. We do speak, and we do think. We have killed many of you, but what is a few hundred compared to thousands of our dead? Every broken shard leaves another of us stranded in your cold bleak stone world, and is it not better to fight than to die? I have a question for you, silly mage. The Void is crumbling. My people are dying. And you have trapped me and bound me with silver so that I have no choice but to obey you. Why do you believe I am the only monster here?”_

The connections finally clicked in Theo’s brain. It was so sudden and so obvious that she almost fell over.

“The Void is getting weaker. That’s why the mine production is dropping. We’re… the warriors are literally cutting away inhabited pieces of their reality. The monster incidents were getting closer together because they… they’re mining away at more populated areas.” Sick horror welled up inside her gut. “We’ve been exterminating them. They were innocent. We’re slaughtering sentient beings and we didn’t even realize it.” Theo looked at her Gemini with new revulsion. How many had died for the shards she had used?

The creature tilted its head and looked oddly thoughtful. _“That is exactly right. You are smarter than you look.”_

Wheat tottered over, wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve. “So you’re not going to kill us?”

The bony fingers tapped impatiently on the ruined desk surface. _“I am unable to hurt a living being in this world in the restraints you have given me. Even if I wanted to, which I do.”_

“Wait.” Dtron stepped forward and lowered his staff. “That’s what we’ve been working on. A way to stop the need for mining shards by artificially fusing quantities of magic dust together. If we succeed, the Void will be safe. No one else has to die.”

Its hands went still and it looked up at him. _“Truly?”_

“Yes,” Theo said quickly. “The warriors were too afraid of the… beings in the mines and they asked for our help. We’ve found a way to produce our own shards without the need for natural sources.” A desperate thought suddenly occurred to her. “We need your help. The College is in danger right now. The warriors are rioting because they’re not safe in the mines or the city, and we need to keep the House of Light from interfering with the process testing site. Can you do anything to keep people under control until the shard process is perfected?”

The creature looked left and right, but finally seemed to relax. _“I suppose I am indebted to your kind for finding some way to preserve us.”_

“Exactly,” Theo said. She ignored the nervous glare from Morken and put down her Gemini and the poetry book. “You helped that Queensguard girl survive the End of Days tasks. This shouldn’t be hard.”

 _“We will see about that.”_ The solid smoky flesh twisted and flickered, then crumbled away. Theo nearly screamed as its face smoothed out and changed color until it looked perfectly human and female. She was short and looked very young, with long white-blonde hair and the purple eyes of the void. _“You must name me and give me a very specific request, or else I cannot do what you want.”_

Theo had almost forgotten about the naming. “What did the warrior girl call you?” she asked.

_“I do not remember. We have no names in the Void.”_

“Um…” Theo looked at the monster’s purple eyes, which still shone like cold stars in the plain face. “Fine. I’ll call you Naebula.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOOSE ONE:  
> What should Theo ask the captive void monster to do?
> 
> ~~dd2: "I need you to find a way to keep the warriors in the city under control."  
>  VOTES: 0~~
> 
> **ee2: "I need you to keep the House of Light away from the College testing site outside of Stormwind."  
>  VOTES: 6**
> 
> ~~ff2: "I need you to help us work out the errors in the shard creation process."  
>  VOTES: 1~~
> 
> ~~gg2: "I need you to be my personal bodyguard."  
>  VOTES: 0~~


End file.
